Angel (I) (2007) 5.9
The rise and fall of a young eccentric British writer, in the early 20th century. Director:François Ozon |
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Angel (I) (2007) 5.9
The rise and fall of a young eccentric British writer, in the early 20th century. Director:François Ozon |
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Romola Garai | ... |
Angel Deverell
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| Sam Neill | ... |
Théo
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| Lucy Russell | ... |
Nora Howe-Nevinson
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| Michael Fassbender | ... |
Esmé
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| Charlotte Rampling | ... | ||
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Jacqueline Tong | ... |
Mother Deverell
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Janine Duvitski | ... |
Aunt Lottie
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Christopher Benjamin | ... |
Lord Norley
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Tom Georgeson | ... |
Marvell
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| Simon Woods | ... |
Clive Fennelly
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| Jemma Powell | ... |
Angelica
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Alison Pargeter | ... |
Edwina
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Seymour Matthews | ... |
Norley Doctor
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| Una Stubbs | ... |
Miss Dawson
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Jo Perrin | ... |
Publisher's secretary
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Angel Deverell comes of age in Edwardian Cheshire knowing she will be a great writer. Rising above her class (her widowed mother has a grocery shop), Angel finds a publisher and a wide audience for her frothy romances. With royalties, she buys an estate, then she's smitten by Esme, a rake from local aristocracy and an artist of dark temperament. She hires Esme's sister Nora, who dotes on her, as a personal assistant, and pursues Esme. Angel is grandly self-centered, coloring her world as if it were one of her novels. When the Great War breaks out and reality begins to trump her will, can Angel hold on to her man and her public? Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>
I've added Angel in my watch list about a month ago, after studying -quite a few- of Romola Garai's and Michael Fassbender's performances. Some of the films i've watched with Garai were: Inside I'm Dancing (2004), Mary Bryant (2005), Atonement (2007) and The Other Man (2008). She was brilliant in all of them. So she was in this film.
This is a fiction story based on a novel/screenplay by Elizabeth Taylor. It's kind of a biography of a young writer (Angel) with a not wealthy background that manages to finally publish her rich -in imagination- novels. What do you think, passionate love wouldn't knock on her door when she starts being famous? This is where Fassbender's role (Esme) comes in. Another artist, an underestimated painter who doesn't feel confident enough about his work and who also keeps some skeletons in his closet that will -later in the film- (much later) finally be revealed. Fassbender is a great performer but he doesn't get to shine here. Sam Neil plays the part of the overwhelmed publisher and Lucy Russell does a great supporting work as Esme's sister.
As i'm still new in screen writing and film structure, i found myself a bit worried about the way this movie was unfolded. Everything seemed so magical and dreamy and the drama was almost out of the plot for much longer than i expected. It had to make a turn! And it did and it was sudden, maybe a bit frustrating at some point, but you'll have your turning point eventually.
Since i've realized that there where practically two acts in this film i recalled the atmosphere, the costumes, the music and the colors that went along with the change. In the beginning everything was so bright and cheerful, then all turned pale and gloomy to show the depression, which you can clearly notice even in the clothes of the protagonist. There where only a few outdoor special effects that looked really out of date and weird for a 2007 production. I laughed and quickly forgot about them.
In a nutshell, it was a decent film -with a small cast- describing the intense, disturbed and not very long life of a young female writer in the early 20s, but nothing more to get excited about.