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:

character name as title | writer | eccentric | novel | personal assistant | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Garai first went to the audition for this film, the director turned her away because she was looking too 'rough'. The actress came back again, all dressed up, and ended up winning the role of Angel.

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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 The New Girlfriend (2014)

User Reviews

Good, but don't get excited

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.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Wild Bunch [France]

Country:

UK Belgium France

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 March 2007 (Belgium)

Also Known As:

Angel

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,835,903

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