Effie Gray (2014)
Country: GB
Technical: col/2.35:1 104m
Director: Richard Laxton
Cast: Dakota Fanning, Greg Wise, Tom Sturridge, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters, David Suchet
Synopsis:
Art historian and critic John Ruskin marries the daughter, half his age, of his Scottish tenant, but is unable to consummate the union. Through five years of misery, Effie's health deteriorates and she turns for support to her friendship with a wealthy patroness and the pre-Raphaelite artist responsible for her husband's portrait.
Review:
Thompson, who wrote the screenplay, may have altered one or two details to underline the eccentricity of the couple's living arrangements, but this is a minutely ordered recreation of the stifling isolation of Victorian marriage for the less fortunate (cf. The Invisible Woman). The world of art, and the detail of Ruskin's portrait for example, are kept at arm's length so that our perception is restricted almost exclusively to that of the heroine. Consequently, while Ruskin remains something of an enigma Fanning fills out her role by subtle gradations, nicely supported by muted ensemble playing and direction.
Country: GB
Technical: col/2.35:1 104m
Director: Richard Laxton
Cast: Dakota Fanning, Greg Wise, Tom Sturridge, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters, David Suchet
Synopsis:
Art historian and critic John Ruskin marries the daughter, half his age, of his Scottish tenant, but is unable to consummate the union. Through five years of misery, Effie's health deteriorates and she turns for support to her friendship with a wealthy patroness and the pre-Raphaelite artist responsible for her husband's portrait.
Review:
Thompson, who wrote the screenplay, may have altered one or two details to underline the eccentricity of the couple's living arrangements, but this is a minutely ordered recreation of the stifling isolation of Victorian marriage for the less fortunate (cf. The Invisible Woman). The world of art, and the detail of Ruskin's portrait for example, are kept at arm's length so that our perception is restricted almost exclusively to that of the heroine. Consequently, while Ruskin remains something of an enigma Fanning fills out her role by subtle gradations, nicely supported by muted ensemble playing and direction.
Country: GB
Technical: col/2.35:1 104m
Director: Richard Laxton
Cast: Dakota Fanning, Greg Wise, Tom Sturridge, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters, David Suchet
Synopsis:
Art historian and critic John Ruskin marries the daughter, half his age, of his Scottish tenant, but is unable to consummate the union. Through five years of misery, Effie's health deteriorates and she turns for support to her friendship with a wealthy patroness and the pre-Raphaelite artist responsible for her husband's portrait.
Review:
Thompson, who wrote the screenplay, may have altered one or two details to underline the eccentricity of the couple's living arrangements, but this is a minutely ordered recreation of the stifling isolation of Victorian marriage for the less fortunate (cf. The Invisible Woman). The world of art, and the detail of Ruskin's portrait for example, are kept at arm's length so that our perception is restricted almost exclusively to that of the heroine. Consequently, while Ruskin remains something of an enigma Fanning fills out her role by subtle gradations, nicely supported by muted ensemble playing and direction.