An Exercise In Nonsense

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

and definitely lacking in the shoot-em-up, bawdy gratuitous sex scenes and Hollywood hype. This is not a film for the usual popcorn viewing brigade. Firstly, it is not (to it's enormous credit) a Hollywood produced film or even a big business film. It is privately funded and produced. Now, viewers will find this very hard to believe, for the excellence of scenery, costumes,attention to detail and cast role would certainly infer my earlier statements to be incorrect. Additionally, superb cinematography and scene placement produce sumptuous delights for the eyes. Furthermore, Emma Thompson's script is a lesson on period dialogue given clarity and flow to a modern generation. This is a film that demands your attention but will not pander to it. If you are not willing to give your mind and heart to it, don't blame the film. It's subtleties and nuances are exquisitely and delicately portrayed and I could find no area of the acting which in any way displeased me.On the contrary. Now I will grant that I'm an old guy and that I can remember in my childhood echoes of Edwardian-like darkened rooms and repressively collaborative furnishings, so there were echoes in the film I recognised that many a viewer today would not find relevant (hence, perhaps, some of the comments on this board). But...and it's a pretty big BUT....to describe this film as anything less than superb, a masterpiece, a true pageant of excellence in every department...and done without major company backing...would be a gross misrepresentation of film making.So, take that Hollywood!! Bam! Klash! Kaboom! So take that all you bigmoney film orgs! Kaboom. Good, indeed superb, films can be made without enormous expenditure and excessive hype. This is one of them.(but don't watch it if you only want to defend Ruskin or suppress the indomitable spirit of womanhood).

This is a film treated with the delicacy that the real circumstances must have required. Effie Gray, based on the true story of a teenager who marries John Ruskin (grown man and well-known author), comes to realize that she and her husband have varying expectations of marriage. She slowly begins to fade away as she makes all appearances of following the rules of her new, married life.The movie is well-paced, quiet, and stylistically appropriate. Dakota Fanning does a wonderful job of portraying Effie's quiet despair, and you do forget that she is an American actor (her accent is good). Derek Jacobi makes a guest turn, towards the end, and, It's always a pleasure to see Emma Thompson in anything, let alone in a vehicle for a screenplay that she has written.Well worth seeing.

Oh Emma what a major disappointment! You didn't even bother to add some text at the end to say what happened to Effie. She went on to marry Millais and had several children with him and by all accounts lived happily ever after. The Scotland scenes were slow and boring though the rest was OK. certainly the TV series Desperate Romantics re the pre- Raphaelites was far more dramatic re Effie and Millais. It will be interesting to find out which was the real situation. Such a pity - the acting was OK and the costumes beautiful. The lighting was really weird though- going from dimmish to really dim in the same scene- if that was supposed to be some sort of filmic effect it failed. It made me think there was something wrong with my TV. I was also disappointed with the sound quality nod several times thought they were speaking in a foreign language - and I don't mean the scenes shot in Venice either!For people who know nothing about the Ruskin/ Effie/ Millais situation, which was a very unique, scandalous and shocking situation that made Ruskin a laughing stock, it failed miserably. If you are going to pluck stuff from history it really needs to be far more accurate.

In some places billed as a story of a terrible scandal, the film fails to deliver on that promise in any way. The 'facts' of the story that are on display in this film are all those that may have led up to scandal, but nothing here tells of what happened when (if) it broke! Lit as if it all took place in midwinter in the half light, I can only guess at the costumes and the sets as mostly o just saw pale faces in a sea of shadows. It is very slowly plotted, taking at least 30 minutes to get going, and the music drags it down even further into dullness, but the real shame of the film is its failure to make any real attempt to understand anyone except Effie herself. If the allegations the film makes are true (e.g. Mrs Ruskin senior was a poisoner) it's something that deserves more than the cardboard cutout that Julie Walters was given to play by way of an explanation. One expects licence in a 'based on a real life story' story (!) but it had the feel of a few bare facts knitted together with 90% fiction, which is a strange mix. I confess to not knowing how much was true and how much was Emma's own imagination, but it certainly felt like Victoria n morality and mores crudely put through the mincer of modern ideas. Badly done Emma, badly done!