Affinity (I) (2008)

A grieving upper class woman becomes a "Lady Visitor" at Millbank prison, hoping to escape her troubles and be a guiding figure in the lives of the female prisoners. Of all her friendships ... See full summary »

Director:

Tim Fywell

Writers:

Andrew Davies, Sarah Waters (novel)

Stars:

Zoë Tapper, Anna Madeley, Domini Blythe

1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Zoë Tapper	...	Selina Dawes
Anna Madeley	...	Margaret Prior
Domini Blythe	...	Mother Prior
Amanda Plummer	...	Miss Ridley
Mary Jo Randle	...	Mrs. Jelf
Caroline Loncq	...	Ruth Vigers
Anne Reid	...	Mrs. Brink
Vincent Leclerc	...	Theophilus
Anna Massey	...	Miss Haxby
Ferelith Young	...	Helen
Sara Lloyd-Gregory	...	Madeleine (as Sara Lloyd Gregory)
Brett Watson	...	Stephen Prior
Candis Nergaard	...	Black Eyed Sue
Kenneth Hadley	...	Prison Porter
Sarah Crowden	...	Ada

Storyline

A grieving upper class woman becomes a "Lady Visitor" at Millbank prison, hoping to escape her troubles and be a guiding figure in the lives of the female prisoners. Of all her friendships with prisoners, she is most fascinated by Selina - a medium. Set in the 1870s.

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Plot Keywords:

prison | medium | betrayal | lesbian | con artist | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

UK Romania Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 May 2008 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Bucharest, Romania

Company Credits

Production Co:

Box TV, Cité-Amérique, Castel Film Romania

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep"
(uncredited)
By Emma Hart Willard

User Reviews

A huge let-down.

Affinity was the television low point of Christmas 2008. It seemed to have been thrown together at the last minute, with jarring editing, terrible sound balances, and a script that seemed to have been put together by a cliché-filled computer. Everything seemed wrong - the men's facial hair, the extras' wooden street-walking, the dreadful music, the sheer repetitiveness (we turned it into a drinking game: one finger for 'walks nervously through prison gates', two fingers for 'walks nervously into cell'; we all got very drunk.) I loathe wobbly-cam shots, trying to watch characters as they bounce around the screen in a haphazard fashion, but occasionally, it can be bearable - Bourne, for instance. 'Affinity' was not the place for wobbly-cams, especially when they are mixed - seemingly at random - with steady shots. I hate to ask it, because he is supposed to have TV's Midas Touch, but is Andrew Davies entering 'Emperor's New Clothes' territory?