Effie Gray - Film review

Posted on: 2014-10-13

Our rating:

Effie Gray won't be everyone's bag, but it's an unmistakably well-mounted, handsomely envisioned and nuanced film about one of the greatest scandals of the Victorian era.


 

Effie Gray has been a passion project for Emma Thompson for years, and her dedication and enthusiasm for the project is reflected in the fact she wrote the script, produced and stars in it. It's a slow burning movie for sure, a film that takes its time to explore its characters, but those patient enough will be amply rewarded. 

There's no doubt American actress Dakota Fanning bears an uncanny resemblance to the titular character with her big blue eyes and rosy cheeks, and the film kicks off with Effie's marriage to the renowned art critic, John Ruskin, and her trek to the Ruskin's family home. But from the moment she arrives it's far from all tea and crumpets as she's met with scorn and opprobrium by her new in-laws as much as her new husband, and before long Effie is plunged into a personal prison and the hell of isolation, loneliness and near-madness. 

It's a tough and demanding role for a young actress, and her early scenes play out as bit stunted and wooden (you also have to ask yourself why they couldn't have used a British actress, which would have precluded the affected English upper-class accent), but she later competently holds her own as her character deals with her emotional and psychological torment.

Effie Gray reviewed in Bristol by Jamie Caddick

Greg Wise's depiction of the emotionally bereft, cold-hearted and poisonous tormentor Ruskin is a masterclass in manipulative, inhuman cruelty, trapping his new spouse in some kind of horrific, Rebecca-style nightmare.

There's solid and sterling support from an impressive ensemble of other actors, too. Julie Walters steals every scene she's in alongside David Suchet as Ruskin's detached, equally hostile parents; Robbie Coltrane makes a fleeting but impressionable mark as a compassionate physician; Derek Jacobi as a supportive and sympathetic lawyer to Effie's plight; and Thompson's Lady Eastlake - sassy, switched on, no-nonsense - is the most moving, heartfelt character of them all, seemingly the only person to fathom exactly what's going on with a few scenes that are genuinely moving. 

No doubt, this isn't the easiest film to watch, filled as it is with scenes of intense brooding, steely stares, introspective glances and unspoken melancholy. Though there are moments of respite and hope - particularly with Effie's kind and generous companion and artist Everett Millais - the overall tone here is one of grim suffering and repression in a joyless marriage. It's the darker, damaged side of historical melodrama, one that scratches beneath the surface of Victorian sheen, and refreshingly all the better for it.

Director Richard Laxton handles proceedings with a deft and assured hand, the Victorian costumes and sets are magnificently recreated, there are plenty of sumptuous visual flourishes (aristocratic houses, Venetian canals, beautifully rugged countryside panoramas), and there's an enchanting score by Paul Cantelon. 

It's not everyone's bag, but it's an unmistakably well-mounted, handsomely envisioned and nuanced film about one of the greatest scandals of the Victorian era. 

3.5/5

Reviewed by Jamie Caddick for 365Bristol

 



Article by:

James Anderson

Born and raised in the suburbs of Swansea, Jimmy moved to Bristol back in 2004 to attend university. Passionate about live music, sport, science and nature, he can usually be found walking his cocker spaniel Baxter at any number of green spots around the city. Call James on 078 9999 3534 or email Editor@365Bristol.com.