Ironclad 2: Battle For Blood ***

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Writer-director Jonathan English got surprisingly lucky with the first Ironclad (2011) film, as it offered a thrilling/shocking blood thirst of video-gaming proportions, as well as an impressive cast, including Paul Giamatti, Brian Cox, Derek Jacobi, Charles Dance and the dashing James Purefoy. Still set in the harsh surroundings of 13th Century Britain, post the Great Siege of Rochester Castle, the second film, Ironclad 2: Battle For Blood, seems to have switched target audience, with a more youthful cast of mainly TV actors.

After the De Vesci castle home comes under attack from a band of marauding Celts, resulting in a critical body wound for the master of the house, Gilbert De Vesci (David Rintoul), his son Hubert (Tom Rhys Harries) is tasked with fetching his battle-scarred cousin, Guy (Tom Austen) to defend their ancestral home. But the bitter Guy comes at a price and with a band of reprobates in tow, in the form of semi-mute friend Maddog (Predrag Bjelac), cackling executioner Pierrepoint (Andy Beckwith) and Crazy Mary (Twinnie Lee Moore), recently saved from the chop.

The noticeable sticky factor is the absence of big names this time around, however popular Game of Thrones and its actress Michelle Fairley (Catelyn Stark) – playing the lady of the house here – might be. The film hence precariously rides on the back of its predominantly big-screen newcomers, such as Austen and fop-haired Hunky Dory actor Rhys Harries to whip up a younger frenzy. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as Ironclad 2 is as blood quenching, relentless and gallant as the first. It also further perpetuates the clever idea of ‘castle claustrophobia’, where fight not flight is the only answer. However, as the story progresses, there’s only so much painted, kilted clansmen – some amusingly like pouting extras straight out of Xena: Warrior Princess – and ironclad soldiers butchering each other one can take, before it gets a little tedious and glaringly predictable, something the first film managed to avoid altogether.

Indeed, the worthy young cast do battle enough to keep the momentum flowing. Austen is swoon factor material, the age-old, brooding bad boy with a heart, sporting some of the best-threaded eyebrows of the 13th century. Meanwhile Hollyoaks’ Roxanne McKee plays the spoilt madam Blanche – far too lip-glossed for the period – providing the love interest, though this is rather drawn out, pointless and sterile at crunch point, that it hardly registers great passion.

It’s also not entirely clear from Guy’s flashbacks why he has a bee in his bonnet about his relatives. The other ‘kids’, Rhys Harries and Rosie Day as his sensitive sister Kate, do as much as their predicament (and the script) will allow them, which is precious little for the latter, the exciting newcomer of the creepy The Seasoning House. The real winner of it all seems to be Lee Moore who gets to act debauched and damn right dirty (like a former-day ladette), as well as reminding us how menacing Serb actor Bjelac of Harry Potter fame can be once more.

The success of English’s gamble relies on some clever youth marketing – fans of the first will be curious enough to come along and see it, with the promise of more CG blood splatters and historic ruin. The director manages to deliver a commendable production on what appears to be a far lower budget. The crux is the marketability of Austen as a younger Purefoy: That’s anyone’s guess, but it will make for intriguing box-office listings watching in the coming weeks, and might just surprise with another curveball.

3/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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Plot For Peace ****

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The opening shot to this fascinating documentary, Plot For Peace, shows an unassuming man playing a card game, accompanied by a voiceover. The setting itself feels theatrical, as though subsequent events are a new fictional-feature spin on the release of one of the world’s most iconic statesmen, Nelson Mandela, and the end of Apartheid in South Africa. We soon learn that this is French-Algerian businessman and international diplomat Jean-Yves Ollivier, known as ‘Monsieur Jacques’. He’s real and has quite a story to tell, doing so in an unanticipated fashion.

This well-kept ‘secret weapon’ behind Mandela’s release is supported by on-camera confirmation from a ‘star-studded cast’, including Winnie Mandela (ANC activist and Mandela’s ex), Thabo Mbeki (former President of South Africa) and even Pik Botha (former Minister of Foreign Affairs for South Africa at the time), plus other heads of state, generals, diplomats, master spies, etc. The film skilfully uses news documentary footage to illustrate the story being told and events unfolding along the timeline, to really capture the imagination of the atmosphere and tension of the time, like any good thriller would. Directors Carlos Agulló and Mandy Jacobson simplify the complex political situation, adding excitement with the help of their lead character and writer Stephen Smith.

There is undoubtedly an ego to Monsieur Jacques that helped move political mountains, and the directors’ film gives a canvas for this key player to shine through in all his formerly anonymous glory. However, it’s not arrogantly and dramatically done, but understated and dignified, so much so, that you sometimes crave for more detail as to just how this individual ticks, how he did some of the best negotiating in history. On the other hand, there is still a guarded air of mystique as to his methods that pricks curiosity further; here’s just hoping that it didn’t merely boil down to a healthy financial offering.

Monsieur Jacques – who reveals how he orchestrated the removal of South African troops out of Angola and was key in a prisoner swap in Mozambique in the late Eighties – looks like a wheeler dealer (complete with villain) who looks like he enjoys too much of the fine life. However, he subtly wins you over as being one of the most remarkable politicians in history. This gets you thinking of how many more ‘hidden’ middlemen there are out there who also have compelling stories to tell, but might be sworn to state secrecy. If this were a novel plot, you would be hard pressed to believe it, and yet there feels like a whole lot more information ‘missing’ from the film that you can’t quite put a finger on. Perhaps there is just too much for one sitting?

In the end you realise just how monumental Plot For Peace is to our understanding of historical events – and how timely with Mandela’s death. There is definitely more to Monsieur Jacques that we might never get to hear, but are spurred on to go forth and discover. In that case, it’s a documentary well done.

4/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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The Zero Theorem ***

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Terry Gilliam returns to his Brazil ideas in his latest film, The Zero Theorem, such as Big Brother watching/controlling, quirky romance and even quirkier surroundings that scream of escapism from the throng of daily life’s burden. All set in a future of some description – though hopefully, not one we have to look forward to, there are a lot of current themes that ring true here, such as our increasingly alienated lifestyle as we plug in and reinvent ourselves online. The Zero Theorem trips itself up, plot-wise, but is nevertheless, fascinating and endearing, with a part made for multi-talented lead Christoph Waltz.

Waltz plays loner computer hacker Qohen Leth, a man so solitary that he speaks about himself in the Royal ‘We’. Leth is obsessed with finding the meaning of life and our existence, but is constantly interrupted by Management (Matt Damon) who throws projects at him to distract him from his goal – the task of Joby the supervisor (David Thewlis), such as the boss’s smart teenage son, Bob (Lucas Hedges), and call girl love interest Bainsley (Mélanie Thierry).

Gilliam gets full marks for imagination and choice of cast again, but this never quite elevates the film enough to the extraordinary and memorable. Much of the film’s positive effect is due to Waltz’s nuanced performance of a ‘trapped man’, his highs and lows and his journey back into the land of the living as he tries to reach out to Bainsley for human affection he so craves. There are a lot of valuable themes running through this hackneyed plot that help give the status quo more gravitas than it probably deserves. There is also a sense of urgency to creep in change before the powers find out, so it’s a little revolutionary in nature and consuming in this sense as you back Leth’s determination.

Waltz’s Leth is like an autistic person, making him compelling to watch as he interprets events around him. Waltz taps into the character’s good–bad sides, resulting in us never quite knowing how such a conditioned individual will react to the increasing invasion into his little world. Waltz also brings out a gentle man-child persona to Leth, coupled with natural sexual instincts awakened after a drug-fuelled party. Leth is often out of his comfort zone and detached, but the irony is the reality of being connected is not ideal either. Gilliam’s conundrums tease and question that of ‘the ideal’, making the ‘real’ seem ‘surreal’ with hindsight.

With some great supporting acts from Thierry, Damon and a live-wired Thewlis, The Zero Theorem is a satisfying and oddly zany plunge into dark satire and despair. It’s also another shout-out to us all to step back and reassess our technology-driven lives, before it’s too late – even the shrink, Dr. Shrink-Rom (Tilda Swinton), is running out of decent ideas. So too, perhaps, is Gilliam who may well have created some magical set design here, but needs something really fresh to animate life’s most troublesome woes.

3/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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The Grand Budapest Hotel *****

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Director Wes Anderson’s mind is a fascinating one, managing to engage us with imaginative characters and locations that have a warm but barmy feel to them. The Grand Budapest Hotel is no exception, as theatrical and slightly obsessive as his others, but charmingly told. Ralph Fiennes has morphed into many characters over the years, and his delightful turn as camp, legendary concierge, Gustave H is one of the most splendid in some time.

The story begins in the ‘present day’, where a young writer (Jude Law) visits the notorious European hotel and meets with the current proprietor, Mr Moustafa (F. Murray Abraham) to discuss how he came to be in such position. Jumping back in time, the story unfolds around about the time between the two World Wars, centring on Gustave H (Fiennes) and his flamboyant but attentive nature that won him many fans and lovers among his guests. One influential one is the neurotic, wealthy widow, Madame D. (Tilda Swinton), who he has a close relationship with.

At the same time, a new lobby boy starts, Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori), who is put through his paces by Gustave but soon becomes his most trusted protégé and usual companion. After news of the sudden death of Madame D., Gustave and Zero set out to visit her home then hear the will read by her lawyer, Deputy Kovacs (Jeff Goldblum). The consequences of which set them on a perilous adventure that sees them entangle with the late Madame’s hotheaded son, Dmitri (Adrien Brody), his henchman Jopling (Willem Dafoe), and police chief Henckels (Edward Norton). Meanwhile, a budding relationship begins between Zero and his sweetheart, patisserie girl Agatha (Saoirse Ronan).

The cast alone is a mightily impressive draw – as the trailer shows, but in Anderson’s brilliant storytelling fashion, each character is not squandered but has its place and curious significance, like a well planned, well written fairytale; you never get to learn everything about each one but enough to make them individually intriguing. There is an eager pace too, that never tires, even when Gustave is sent down in midway through. Everything is precisely choreographed. An understated comic genius is the vein running right through, with a delivery like a latter-day Groucho Marx production. With this witty underpinning, all lurid subjects (sex, murder etc) are effortlessly dealt with, without losing their impact or shock value – it’s a very clever balancing act. All in all, there are layers of fun to be had within exquisite design and palette.

The film flows beautifully, thanks to Fiennes as Gustave who is meticulous and as proud as his establishment. The wonder in watching Fiennes/Gustave is the gentile comments that are often fully loaded and his decorum that never slips in any provocative situation but also feels wreckless and almost self-deprecatory. This contradictory façade hides a very dark side that may just materialise at any moment, as well as an implied bisexuality. Anderson gives us a delicious, multifaceted character to indulge in while Fiennes proves how much of a natural he is at comedy.

Great comic support also comes in the shape of Swinton as haggard old dear Madame D. with OCD and a walnut-whip of a hairdo – as much a manipulator as Gustave. There is a sense that the only one without an agenda is stalwart Zero, exceptionally acted by feature-film newcomer Revolori. The actor must own a lot of the mise-en-scène close-ups without moving much of a facial muscle. Goldblum, Brody, Norton and Dafoe play panto parts that instinctively compliment the tale and its eccentricities. Anderson has coaxed the best out of his cast, including Ronan sporting a cool birthmark. There is a real sense of total belief in the success of the film from all involved. It combines, comedy, theatre, murder and mystery in one hoot of a time. It’s an Anderson delicacy, much like the tale’s baking, to taste and savour.

5/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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The Stag **

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The mighty stag still holds a lot of comedy value, so much so Jon Turteltaub tried to do a geriatric version of The Hangover recently with Last Vegas that spawned a lukewarm response, even with a stellar cast onboard. Debut writer-director John Butler has tried to cash in on this fertile ground with his Irish version, The Stag, that boasts the stunning vistas of the Irish countryside as opposed to Vegas. The result is a safe and sanitised jaunt that disappointingly plays to caricature and the Carry On days of (giggle, giggle) ‘naughty’ nudity.

Mild-mannered groom-to-be Fionnan (Hugh O’Conor) is getting married to stunning Ruth (Amy Huberman) but doesn’t want a stag party. He is far more interested in the wedding detail, like the centrepiece flower arrangements on the tables than getting raucous with the lads. Persuaded by Ruth, best man Davin (Andrew Scott) is tasked with organising a tame stag weekend of camping in the great outdoors. However, Ruth wants her macho, bigoted whirlwind of a brother, ‘The Machine’ (Peter McDonald), to be invited, much to the other guys’ horror. What follows is a weekend of enlightenment and secrets revealed that could make or break friendships.

Your expectations of something familiar but altogether different are ripe at the start, partly because the film dips in gently into introducing the effeminate Fionnan, the metrosexual man that every bride would be thankful for. The writing does feel stilted, as does the delivery, but there is an amicable rapport creeping through between the groom and his best man that curiosity is pricked as to how things might escalate. Sadly, the only time it really does is when The Machine shows up.

There is something just too déjà vu and cosy about the whole scenario that never tries to raise a surprise. Even the inevitable confrontation between Fionnan and Davin – that is screamingly obvious from the start – fails to lead to anything of memorable substance. Granted, the film could have gone in the other direction, leading to The Hangover comparisons. Although The Stag is more realistic in events than the Hollywood latter, it still needs something unique of shock value rather than consistently delivering on expectations.

Most of the gag reels are the exclusivity of McDonald – the funniest involving an electric fence. McDonald must have felt the weight of comic dependency on his shoulders in the role. No sooner has the plot delivered a few eyes-to-the-ceiling moments, mostly due to The Machine’s antics, than the boys are back at the inn, ready to return home. The acting is commendable as far as the script will allow, while the only character arc is that of The Machine’s.

The bromance is not lost in The Stag, however odd the grouping is. The implied question mark over Fionnan’s sexuality is never picked up and played out to death, thankfully, though you do feel somewhat cheated that it didn’t provide a much-needed twist. Even the film’s natural charm is questionable; is it the characters or that of wistful thoughts of the Emerald Isle at play here? It’s very hard to tell. Butler has produced a consumable first feature, though one that is crying out for more impropriety.

2/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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Ride Along **

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Kevin Hart has fast become a US household name, only recently proving more notorious this side of the pond with his turn in the Stallone-De Niro boxing comedy Grudge Match. Now he’s fully exposed – as apposed to blasts of over-enthusiasm in the latter film, paired with stony-faced Ice Cube in cop comedy Ride Along that entertains but never rises above the genre’s usual well-worn clichés.

Fast-talking school security guard Ben (Hart) wants to be a cop and marry his stunning fiancée Angela (Tika Sumpter). He gets into the Academy but there’s only one problem; he has to impress his brother-in-law-to-be, James (Cube), in order to gain his girl’s hand in marriage. Tough Atlanta cop James doesn’t exactly like video-gaming addict Ben and doesn’t understand what his sister sees in him. In the hope that he can put an end to Ben’s cop dreams, as well as get rid of him from his sister’s life once and for all, James decides to take Ben on a 24-hour patrol or ‘ride along’ of Atlanta’s mean streets.

Hart in full flow is like watching Chris Rock on speed, including every standard Black man quip. There is modicum of chemistry with Cube who’s just too moody to fully enjoy, with the latter holding back an excitable, yapping puppy. Basically, both leads overdo the classic keen-jaded, straight-foolish comedy duo balance that it becomes a caricature and tiring to watch. Ride Along’s success Stateside is bemusing and can only be credited to Hart’s ‘cute’ likeability and the film’s ‘easy on the brain’ viewing, reminiscent in plot of a 48 Hrs. (1982) throwback, say.

We soon begin to sympathise with Cube’s James though, when the constant Hart/Ben jabber becomes more frenetic as things heat up. Sadly, this film is no clever reinvention of the genre’s tropes, unlike The Heat last year that tried pairing off two strong female comediennes with success. Ride Along even peddles out the standard warehouse standoff sequence that’s forgettable soon after watching, even with a star turn from Laurence Fishburne.

It’s not all bad as Hart’s Ben sets out to win hearts and minds, like a guinea pig caught up in a social experiment that’s both psychologically and physically demanding. But it’s a tad insulting to real hardworking cops out there that as the film suggests, playing a war video game equips you for life in the force and targeting baddies. If only it was that simple, it would be a damn sight cheaper to train an officer.

Ride Along fills its quota of action-packed moments right from the very first scene, so there is plenty of carnage, explosions and chaotic shoot-outs to feast on. It also fulfils the nerd’s fantasy of getting the gorgeous girl (Sumpter) through sheer gaming prowess. It’s also a reasonable platform to elevate Hart’s career further as he comes off the best. Aside from that, Ride Along offers nothing new, however entertaining parts of it are and enthusiast Hart can be.

2/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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Non-Stop ***

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Seeing Liam Neeson in the action-man role has fast become the norm, surprising as the actor is in his sixties and only really ventured into the genre eight years ago with the successful Taken (2008). Teaming up again with Spanish director Jaume Collet-Serra of Unknown (2011) – his last action-hero part, Neeson plays another like character in Non-Stop that it’s beginning to feel like fiction and reality are blending, that we’re witnessing some alter-ego of the actor who can be relied on to save the day in real-life. It’s this reassurance that makes his roles so believable, however bonkers the story becomes.

Neeson is Air Marshal Bill Marks this time, an ex-cop dedicated to the job but a wreck in his personal life and ironically, not much of a flyer either. Boarding yet another flight, this time from New York to London, a troubled Marks receives a sinister text mid-Atlantic on his secure work connection in the form of a threat that one passenger will die every 20 minutes unless a ransom of $150 million dollars is paid into an account. As events escalate, and the passengers’ trust of the irate air marshal evaporates, it appears Marks is being made into the prime suspect and a scapegoat, part of a larger threat. He is running out of time to save the flight while trying to find his terrorist.

Parts of Non-Stop are so utterly ridiculous that any lesser actor in the lead role would assign this film to the scrapheap. What keeps our interest is Neeson who can hold it all together because of his authoritative presence – plus some commendable directing from Collet-Serra that keeps the momentum ticking over nicely. Neeson seems to apply his winning formula and a few solid punches, meting out his own form of justice at 40,000ft. Perhaps it’s the licence to bring justice at any cost that is so attractive to his former characters as well as Marks? In addition, Marks is a flawed, out-of-shape man who feels like the world is leaving him behind, but still has very grounded principles to admire.

Whatever, it’s all very much riding on Neeson, even though there is a great supporting cast of Julianne Moore as fellow, strong-willed passenger (and possible love interest) and 12 Years A Slave star Lupita Nyong’o and Downton Abbey’s Lady Mary Crawley’s Michelle Dockery as air stewardesses cum Marks’s crime-solving accomplices.

In fact, what seems like a re-run of the usual tired excuses for the average flight terror film soon change. Yes, there is the ransom demand, but John W. Richardson, Christopher Roach and Ryan Engle’s script is a little more compelling than that: It’s like a modern-day whodunit on a plane with a tad of convolution in places, but enough substance to the murder-mystery tale to be consistent and engaging. Then it gets a little daft towards the end with some theory that allows for detonations mid-air while still being able to control a plane. That said the reason for the whole nasty situation is briefly unveiled and thought-provoking, tying in 9/11. You also become as eagle-eyed and suspicious of all the characters pinpointed as possible perps too, like some anti-terror agent, with your initial opinions and prejudices challenged.

Non-Stop is another solid Neeson action flick for those who enjoy seeing the actor in such parts. It has enough of a puzzle to it too, to be kept entertained and on your toes throughout, making it a perfectly viable trip to the cinema.

3/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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Endless Love ***

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Never mind the original 1981 film starring Brooke Shields by the open fire, Endless Love (2014) rebooted peddles out the age-old issue of good girls liking bad boys. It’s forbidden love for teens, like Mills & Boon sanitised. It also has two highly attractive Brit stars at its helm in Carrie’s Gabriella Wilde and Beastly’s Alex Pettyfer. As for anything of consequence, it’s pure easy watching and inoffensive, a youth swoon fest, and cannot be taken as anything more. It ticks a Valentine’s Day’s girlie night out box too – and it does help if you are Pettyfer obsessed. If not, the square-jawed, mop-haired actor will get young hearts racing. Acting plays second fiddle. It’s all about the looks.

Jade Butterfield (Wilde) is a studious, privileged girl who has never had any friends at school and is on her way to following in her father’s footsteps and studying to become a doctor. David Elliot (Pettyfer) is a popular and charismatic student with no big plans for life. But David has always held a torch for Jade, and on the day of their graduation, their worlds collide, resulting in a forbidden and endless love that Jade’s father Hugh (Bruce Greenwood) tries to put a stop to.

Pettyfer needed a pick-me-up after Beastly (2011)’s lukewarm response, and although Magic Mike (2012) reinforced his pretty boy appeal, Endless Love sends it sky high. Twihards need a new RPatz. Pettyfer just broods, pines and gets cross at certain situations; the perfect ‘non-ideal boyfriend’ material to daydream about is served up in dreamy David. Any acting (as such) only steps up a notch when opposite Greenwood who is quite menacing in a subtle way in this.

Pettyfer’s co-star Wilde fares less well in the acting stakes and merely portrays Jade as that all-American caricature of pert, tanned blondeness and nicety that comfortably fits into all the obvious clichés this film religiously follows. Her gangly ‘dance’ moves further heighten the awkwardness of the whole affair, but it’s the less than believable undying love that the pair has for each other that is a tad worrying. Wilde throws herself at her co-star like an excitable, licking puppy rather than a girl in heart-bursting torment. Still, Pettyfer pouts and all is forgiven for a split second. For starters, the really concerning thing is how a girl like Jade doesn’t have any friends for an entire school period when her popular brother does? And how ‘acceptable’ David’s ‘stalker-ish’ intentions are – the staple diet of many a romance novel it seems…

That said Endless Love serves a purpose and a storybook escape for the teen market this Valentine’s Day. It totally relies on its good-looking cast and post-viewing, word-of-mouth recommendations from a growing army of Pettyfer fans (guaranteed). Its basic premise of boy meets girl, Grease style, devoid of any ‘tricky’ adult subjects means no parental guidance necessary for 13-year-olds+ – a chance for the oldies to grab some quality romance time perhaps?

3/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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LFF 2013: The Invisible Woman ****

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Ralph Fiennes makes each new directorial project feel like a burning passion, a chance to reveal new elements to an infamous character. His Charles Dickens in The Invisible Woman sheds new light on a renowned author not so famed for his private life. In the title role, Fiennes strips down the celebrity into a humble, creative man full of flaws and temptation, throwing the full weight of his acting expertise behind the character. He does this with due care not to upstage the main subject, Nelly (played by Felicity Jones), and her harrowing life story. Fiennes’ Dickens merely illustrates the journey of one independent woman’s life but his huge influence on that trajectory.

The story is told from the perspective of Nelly, an educated young woman from a travelling, all-female family of actors who meets and forms a relationship with a married Dickens at the height of his blossoming career in both theatre and writing. She becomes his secret lover until his death.

Fiennes does well to establish his heroine in a scene from the offset, reminiscent of Jane Campion’s Ada from The Piano in her striding figure across a beach. This image alone tells us all we need to know about Nelly and her fiercely protective nature over her background. Jones is fully believable in the role, adding poise, elegance and a flicker of fragility to Nelly. The wooing game is gradually played out as we watch the standard confinements by the etiquette of the time saddled on Nelly’s young shoulders while Dickens reels her in with his carefree spirit and easy affability. It makes for an intense mating dance that feels as dangerous as it is rousing; like a moth to a flame. There does seem some lag before the consequences to the Dickens family are felt though.

Fiennes deliciously portrays Dickens, warts and all, forever toying with our opinion as Dickens moves between perfect host and brilliant writer and callous cad and adulterer. However, these different personas are skilfully blurred as Dickens retains our empathy at his own restrictions in then-society. The result is a love tragedy that feels out of control but ultimately ironic as both are victims and successors at different times. Abi Morgan’s screenplay accentuates this equilibrium, as Rob Hardy’s (A Boy) cinematography creates the right ambiance in the more intimate moments.

The Invisible Woman feels like a more approachable and mainstream offering than Fiennes’s art-house and theatrical Coriolanus. It is a true and solidly acted period love drama that British filmmaking is so skilled in effortlessly delivering. It is compelling as the characters flex their muscles in a constrained environment full of creative passion. It serves its purpose in exposing new intrigue in one of Britain’s great literary authorities too. Fiennes knows his strengths and returns to them full flow.

4/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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