Ed's Review Dot Com

LD Entertainment, Exclusive Media Group, Pioneer Pictures,

Elizabeth Olsen, Oscar Isaac, Tom Felton, Jessica Lange, Shirley Henderson, Matt Lucas, Mackenzie Crook, John Kavanagh

Therese (Elizabeth Olsen) is in a loveless arranged marriage with her cousin Camille (Tom Felton). Camille is sickly and has no affection to show for Terese. But when his old friend Laurent (Oscar Issac) comes to visit Terese quickly falls in love with him as he’s got all the things she wished for in a lover. But Camille’s mother (Jessica Lange) is watching her like a hawk, and when tragedy strikes, things go from bad to worse.

This is a period drama created from the novel by Emile Zola, and has a great cast. The story is like many of the other novels of the era, but in some ways is a more interesting story. We really can hardly blame any of the characters in this story. It’s one of those things that was bound to happen. The old saying “Be careful what you wish for as you just might get it” really applies to this story. Lust and passion lead to tragedy and regret as it often does. Once we obtain what we think we wanted, we often find that we don’t want it quite that much. Jessica Lange is really excellent in this story as she plays the overbearing mother that has turned Camille into a real mama’s boy. But Elizabeth Olsen also nails her part as a flitty and light minded girl, not quite grown up who’s forced to grow up in a hurry. There is a lot of tragedy, but it’s a good romance story and the period costumes are really well done. All in all it’s a decent movie with a relatively unknown (at least lesser known) story that makes it fun to watch. I usually do not like movies like this, but I have to admin it was happy to sit through this one. I had my reservations about a Gothic novel, but I was happy that I did. I got myself a little bit of culture at the same time!

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BBC Films, Headline Pictures, Magnolia Mae Films,

Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Fairley, Felicity Jones, Kristin Scott Thomas, Tom Hollander, Tom Burke, Perdita Weeks, John Kavanagh

Charles Dickens (Ray Fiennes) is at the height of his career, but bored with his domestic but literary deficient wife when he spots a young actress, Nelly (Felicity Jones) who is very smart. Friendship turns into more as he makes this young woman his mistress, but his morals require him to keep her a secret, and though she lives a lavish lifestyle, the lies and secrets tear her to pieces.

Based on the life of British Author Charles Dickens, this is a very well done story. If there’s a flaw, it’s that it’s very slow to develop, but the story is very interesting, and the performers are very good. There is a scene where Dickens’ wife delivers a message to her husband’s mistress which is very powerful. That one scene makes the movie worthwhile. The self loathing and bitterness about always being hidden away as a terrible secret takes a toll on the poor girl, and her efforts to deal with that is what makes this film so entertaining. It’s set in the late 1800’s, of course, so it’s a period piece of sorts, and that’s something that I normally don’t get into. But I have to admit the story did keep me interested, and the fact that it’s based on the true story helped to keep my interest. The script is very well written and the character development is outstanding, and Ray Fiennes second round of playing Mr. Dickens gives us a lot more into both the good and not so good sides of this revered writer. If you like the biographical drama of times of old and can tolerate the slow and steady way this story evolves, you’re sure to like this tale. If you want lots of action and adventure, stay away!

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog