Angel (2007)

The rise and fall of a young eccentric British writer, in the early 20th century.

Director:

François Ozon

Writers:

Elizabeth Taylor (novel), François Ozon

Stars:

Romola Garai, Sam Neill, Lucy Russell

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Romola Garai	...	Angel Deverell
Sam Neill	...	Théo
Lucy Russell	...	Nora Howe-Nevinson
Michael Fassbender	...	Esmé
Charlotte Rampling	...	Hermione
Jacqueline Tong	...	Mother Deverell
Janine Duvitski	...	Aunt Lottie
Christopher Benjamin	...	Lord Norley
Tom Georgeson	...	Marvell
Simon Woods	...	Clive Fennelly
Jemma Powell	...	Angelica
Alison Pargeter	...	Edwina
Seymour Matthews	...	Norley Doctor
Una Stubbs	...	Miss Dawson
Jo Perrin	...	Publisher's secretary

Storyline

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?

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Plot Keywords:

writer | eccentric | novel | personal assistant | aristocracy | 

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Taglines:

A dreary city tenement provides backdrop to this tale of exclusion and the magic it takes to become accepted.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Wild Bunch [France]

Country:

UK Belgium France

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 March 2007 (Belgium)

Also Known As:

Angel - Ein Leben wie im Traum

Filming Locations:

Abbaye de Bois-Seigneur-Isaac, Braine L'Alleud, Wallon Brabant, Belgium

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fidélité Productions, Poisson Rouge Pictures, SCOPE Invest

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The outdoor scenes were shot in bitterly cold weather. The camera would freeze after two minutes of shooting, and had to be taken inside and warmed up with hot towels before taken outside again. The actors did not mind this as they too could warm up between takes.

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Quotes

Angel Deverell: [from trailer] Everyone told me my dreams were lies. All I wanted was to make it true.

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Connections

Referenced in Une nouvelle amie (2014)

User Reviews

This is a satire right?

If I had approached this movie as a satire, perhaps it would have been more bearable. Or maybe not. It somewhat feels like a play on 40's-50's movie comedy, but set in the early 1900's. The script (and the acting for that matter) is so flawed, there is no need to even bother going over its flaws. Fassbender clearly lives in the 21st century and Romola is straight out of an overacted tragicomedy play from the 1800's, except she is behaving like a bratty teenager we see on Sweet 16. I hope she was doing it on purpose, otherwise there are no excuses for her annoyance. There is a fine line between funny and annoying. I had to force myself to finish watching this movie just because I am such a huge Fassbender fan. Him, along with Charlotte and Sam, what a waste of talent.