After a breathtaking performance in Mare of Easttown, Kate Winslet is back to establish herself on the small screen. But this time, she plays someone much more ridiculous and horrible.
The star steps into the shoes of Chancellor Elena Vernham, a dictator at the head of a fictional and anonymous country based in the mountains of Central Europe. With a haughty accent and permanent snoot, she orders her staff around like dogs one minute, then croons on camera to address her nation (or her “loves”) the next.
Dressed to the nines in sharply silhouetted dresses and impeccable makeup, Vernham is a true narcissist obsessed with appearing normal and put-together to those around her. Ironic, considering her paranoia about breathing clean air and her regular conversations with her deceased father’s body, which she displays in her palace.
Vernham is quite the definition of absurd, which begs the question: who inspired his character?
Miya Mizuno/HBO
The answer is that it’s not just one person, but the character combines several dictator traits and pop culture elements mixed into one horrible whole. Showrunner Will Tracy (who previously worked on Succession and The Menu) told Elle that he was originally inspired by the behavior of Haile Selassie, the last emperor of Ethiopia, as detailed in the book The Emperor by Ryszard Kapuściński.
As Tracy says: “It not only walks you through the end of his diet, but also what his day was like: what he would eat for breakfast, how he would dress, who would dress him, when he would would have breakfast. his daily walk, when he took his meetings…and I just thought it was a fun area for a show.
Selassie was emperor from 1930 to 1974 and was best known for bringing his country into the modern era and creating the Organization of African Unity. According to Kapuściński’s book, reported by The Critic, he had many employees performing ridiculous roles, including “…a man whose only job was to wipe up the urine of the imperial dog Lulu after he relieved himself on the shoes of visiting dignitaries.
It should be noted that the author has been accused of fabricating this story. But fictional or not, he shares similarities with Winslet’s Chancellor. She employs a soldier, Herbert Zubak, whose job is to follow her everywhere with a device that tracks humidity in the air. The man ends up playing a much bigger role in the series, but we won’t spoil it here.
The Chancellor’s paralyzing fear of mold is another trait Tracy looked to history for: “These kinds of power-hungry, control-obsessed leaders, there’s a commonality between some of them. between them: germophobia or fear of death, fear of illness. »
Although Tracy doesn’t cite any specific numbers in her interview with Elle, according to an NBC News article, Saddam Hussein was “preoccupied with cleanliness, washing dishes after shaking hands and using wipes to clean his meal trays.” , its utensils and the table before eating.
During this time, Adolf Hitler avoided personal contact and bathed in ridiculous amounts, according to The Big Think. He also didn’t care to discuss his habits, again another trait embodied in The Diet. The chancellor pulls her aide aside and slaps him hard several times in a shocking scene when he accidentally implies she doesn’t like shaking hands with her American political rivals.
Of course, The Regime takes its protagonist’s obsession to whole new levels. The Chancellor is at one point transported in an oxygen tank (which fittingly resembles a deck chair) and avoids public appearances for weeks after a stranger entered her room and breathed on her. Interestingly, a similar burglary took place in Queen Elizabeth II’s bedroom at Buckingham Palace.
According to the New York Times, Tracy also researched Syrian, Russian and Romanian leaders while writing the show. Again, no names are mentioned, but Screen Rant notes parallels with traits and events in the lives of Presidents Nicolae Ceaușescu and Vladimir Putin.
Although there are obvious nods to famous world leaders, there is something unique about Elena Vernham. As Tracy says, she feels “…like a modern head of state that we haven’t exactly seen yet, but it seems plausible.” We might do it one day.
This extra spice certainly seems overkill, but is not out of the realm of possibility. For example, there is an incident where the chancellor is scheduled to meet a US senator, and right before, she puts a message on her personal Instagram saying that she is going to “crush” the Americans.
We’re now in a world where Gen Z uses social media as their main source of news, according to Ofcom, and we certainly haven’t seen the end of politicians trying to build an audience through these types of platforms , both to present information. a more human side of their personality and as a means of promoting dangerous ideologies.
Miya Mizuno/HBO
As for her strange drawl and odd facial expressions, it’s all Kate. Winslet told the New York Times that she deliberately made a subtle lisp because it was “something that she tries very, very hard to hide all the time, and throughout her life it has haunted.”
The Regime is not a true reflection of past leaders, but rather a satirical look at an alternate universe… or perhaps a possible, terrifying glimpse into the kind of dictator we might see in today’s digital age .
The Regime is currently rolling out on HBO and Max in the US and will air on Sky and Now on March 8, 2024 in the UK.
