Vanessa Redgrave stars in 'The Fever', premiering Wednesday night at 8:30 on HBO.

Sometimes a name is all it takes. Viewers will tune in to see HBO's The Fever Wednesday, June 13, because Vanessa Redgrave ('Julia') stars. Redgrave is such a glorious actress, many of us would see her name and plan to watch her in anything.

Yet before tuning in, people should know what awaits them.

Co-written and directed by her son, Carlo Nero, The Fever is an odd, artsy film that's a diatribe on the hideously uneven distribution of wealth in society. The movie, based on Wallace Shawn's play, focuses on a cultured European (Redgrave), who has a lovely home and attends concerts, the ballet and galleries. She is beautiful, well dressed and comfortable.

Her character is never named, so she is every woman. Though her home shots were done in London, all that is clear is that she's a sophisticated woman who appreciates the fine arts. She could be in any city. She has an office, but her career is never identified.

In essence, she is all of us, and by not naming her, her city or her livelihood, we are supposed to relate to her that much more easily.

Waiting at a bus stop one day, she meets a friendly woman whose earrings she admires. The earrings are from an impoverished country, and as the younger woman boards the bus, she presses the jewellery into Redgrave's hands.

Soon, Redgrave decides to visit this war-torn country. And it is there, in a probably once lovely, now somewhat dilapidated hotel, that the movie unfolds. Much of it takes place in the bathroom, as Redgrave's character becomes quite ill.

Flashbacks

Through this night, during which she has a fever - hence the title - she examines her life. It is not a bad life. Rather, many people would be happy to live it. It does, though, beg the question of whether being healthy, loved, educated and employed is enough. Is it enough when babies starve and education is but an unrealised dream for millions?

As she examines her life in flashbacks, her childhood is represented in animation, while other stages of her life are seen in re-enactments. Sometimes she speaks directly to the camera.

The mix of styles gives this an art-house cinema feel.

Through it all, Redgrave is never anything short of brilliant. The film, however, should come with a sledgehammer with which to hit the audience over the head, its intentions are that obvious.

This is a film that deeply wants its audience to react.

"I hope they will be thinking we are all in on this and whatever our circumstances, we can help," Redgrave says. "People are not sure what they can do to help. They are human beings. They think if they can help, they would."

The star and director, independently, say the film ideally will encourage people to act. Brief appearances by Angelina Jolie, as a woman with a sad life, and Michael Moore, as a journalist, are sliced into the film.

If nothing else, this film is a labour of love that took Nero six years to make. Redgrave had performed the play to a 90-seat theatre in London, and Shawn had also performed it, of course playing the lead as a man. The main message, though, that the world is in desperate need of help, remains the same.

Personal journey

"Through this woman's very personal journey, I hope perhaps they see a little bit of themselves whether they be like her - middle-aged, white, Western consumers enjoying all the comforts this system has to offer, and often at the expense of millions of other people around the world," Nero says. "If it creates a little more awareness of our connectiveness to so many other people, then that would be a great thing. And how people respond to that, I don't know.

"I do hope it provokes some people to re-evaluate their lives. This woman in the film thought she was a very decent person, and for all intents and purposes, she is. Who she is has repercussions and dark consequences for so many other people."

As the woman reflects on her life, she recalls how, as a child, she was told to not play onthe other side of the tracks, where the poor live, setting the scene early for the division between good (rich) and bad (poor).

As a younger woman, in a flashback, she's played by Joely Richardson, Red-grave's daughter and Nero's half sister.

Nero, who refers to his mother as Vanessa, says it was a grand experience directing one of the world's most renowned actresses.

"It was wonderful to be able to direct her," Nero says. "Especially in a piece like this, she gives herself truly, utterly and unconditionally to the role. As a director and her son, it is a gift. I knew she cared so much about this piece and its success. I felt we could explore it in many ways. It was a close collaboration and filled with mutual respect.

Self-discovery

"It was an honour to see her prepare her role. She came to the project with an incredible sense of who this woman is and what her role in the world was. You could see minute by minute how she was changing, evolving. She didn't come in with a kind of smugness about who this character is; she was willing to embark on this journey. From a degree of innocence in the beginning and self-awareness, and self-discovery by the end, her level of perspicuity in the role and preparing for it was a lesson for anyone. She has such disarming humility, I was able to direct her when I felt it was necessary."

As for taking direction from her only son, Redgrave says, "He is such a thoughtful man. He really knows what he is after. He finds the story, and he is calm, very calm."

A longtime outspoken activist for human rights, Redgrave says the film also makes her think.

"Every time I turn the tap on, what is happening to the water supply?" she says. "How many people can't get clean drinking water anymore? There is something each of us can do."

- Jacqueline Cutler, Zap2it