A Rolling ‘Moss’ Gathers Steam

Actor Colin Firth, clad in striped one-piece 1920s-style swimsuit, runs along the lake shore to a small wooden jetty with three young boys, white towels ‘round their waists, in pursuit.

Firth jumps into the bitterly chill water (estimated temperature 4-degrees Celsius), but the boys skid to a halt at the jetty’s end. Teeth chattering and breathless with cold, he vainly urges them to join him.

Then he emerges from the freezing lake to a hearty round of applause from director Hugh Hudson and his crew on “World of Moss.” “You’ve earned your money today, Colin,” says one. Firth nods mutely.

He’s been hearing about this scene all day in series of jokes from crew menbers. It’s not only that Firth would have to brave the bitter cold of the icy loch; the other source of mirth is that he became a major name in Britain partly as result of another scene in which he got soaked.

Firth played the imperious Mr. Darcy in the BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel “Pride and Prejudice”; the role made him a national heartthrob. One scene called for him to dive into a lake in a white shirt and breeches; he emerged dripping but a household name.

“The worst that can happen is that someone might make a joke about it,” says Firth stoically. “When ‘Nostromo’ aired on the BBC, I realized to my mild alarm I had a wet-shirt scene in that too, although we’d made it before ‘Pride and Prejudice.’ But it’s fine. I don’t go around feeling like Mr. Darcy, and wish I could stop. To get that degree of attention for any performance in my life is something I savor.”

If Darcy was an heroic role, Firth moves close to playing an anti-hero in “World of Moss.” He is Edward Pettigrew, the head of a landed Scottish family, an inventor given to wild enthusiasms; but he also has a cruel streak and comes close to betraying his wife (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) through his lust for another woman (Irene Jacob).

“You play some of these scenes and you wonder if there’s any redemption to him at all,” reflects Firth. “There’s a high level of play about Edward. He clearly has a love for his family, adores his life, thinks it’s paradise. But his folly threatens it all. And at times you think he’s unspeakable and lacks compassion. It’s a fine line to walk.”

“World of Moss” may yet establish Firth as a bona fide film star, something which has narrowly eluded him in the past. He was the lead in Milos Forman’s “Valmont,” which bombed when it was released after Stephen Frears’ “Dangerous Liaisons”--a retelling of the same story. Firth was acclaimed for his supporting role as the cuckolded husband in “The English Patient,” and was a hit this year in Britain as the lead in “Fever Pitch,’ a story of a man whose romance is jeopardized by his obsessive love for his favorite soccer team. He also appears in the upcoming “A Thousand Acres” with Michelle Pfeiffer and Jessica Lange.

“We’ll wait and see,” says Firth. “All I know about this film is that I like the script. It’s not like anything else I’ve read. It’s set in the ‘30s, but it’s not a sentimental period piece. There’s a definitely an edge to it.”

Director Hudson also has a keen interest in the reception for “World of Moss.” After directing “Chariots of Fire” for producer David Puttnam (it won the Oscar for best picture, though Hudson had to be content with a directing nomination) his career failed to soar. He directed the decidedly mixed “Greystoke,” then the high-profile bomb “Revolution.” His last film was the more obscure “Lost Angels” in 1990.

“A couple of films didn’t work out and six or seven years have gone by,” says Hudson cheerily. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve been very happy and active. I stepped into the proposed film of “Nostromo” after David Lean died, but that turned out to be too expensive. Raising finance is very hard. But there are no rules, though Americans think there are. If you don’t make a film a year, they think you’re a failure.”

Hudson, who like Puttnam is a supporter of the new British Labor government, made two documentaries about former Labor leader Neil Kinnock in Britain’s two previous general elections. He has also been busy directing TV commercials.

Six weeks into “World of Moss,” Hudson cracked a vertebra halfway down his back; he is directing in discomfort and walking with a stick. “It added 12 days to the schedule,” he says. “In America, filming would have stopped and I’d have been in hospital immediately. It’s not too painful when I stand up, but after a day filming I need rest.”

He too is optimistic about “World of Moss”: “It has a top-line cast, some wonderful Scottish actors and a lot of children who haven’t acted before. It’s nice to make a film that’s full of joy, yet has a pace to it.”

Hudson is also pleased to be back with his old compatriot Puttnam: “This is the first time since ‘Chariots of Fire.’ We’ve been constantly in touch since but never worked together till now, I don’t know why. He’s a fantastic collaborator and a wonderful producer. He’s good at crisis management; he’s there when he’s needed for an objective view. You need someone to say--’It isn’t working, why not try it a different way?’ Which he does, brilliantly.”