We were warned of the slow pace but I had no issue with this story of narcissistic 45-year-old Charles Dickens and his 18-year-old mistress Nelly Ternan. Jack's usual catnap, however, seemed longer and deeper than usual, which may or may not have been a coincidence. Directed by and starring Ralph Fiennes (I didn't see his directing debut Coriolanus (2011) and I last blogged about his acting in The Reader), it goes from dreamy to manic, just like Dickens, by then (1857) a beloved British author who craves his public's adoration. Felicity Jones (most recently in Hysteria) gives us a girl who has to grow up fast, despite a loving mother, played by Kristin Scott Thomas (last in Nowhere Boy), and sisters. I also enjoyed the performance of Joanna Scanlan (she didn't look familiar though I've seen a number of her credits) as the long-suffering Mrs. Dickens. With her lovely skin she doesn't look all that much older than Jones. However the actress was born in 1961, Fiennes in 1962, and Jones in 1983.
Some of you may know that Fiennes' name is pronounced Rafe (with a long A) Fines. He was named after his grandfather, also pronounced Rafe but spelled Ralph. He's said to be touchy about the correct pronunciation and wishes he had changed the spelling to Rafe early in his career so as to get folks to say it right.
The screenplay was adapted by Abi Morgan (most recently wrote Shame) from the 1991 novel by noted British biographer Claire Tomalin.
The luscious Oscar-nominated costumes were designed by Michael O'Connor (he did Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, among others, and won for The Duchess).
If you like a lovely costume drama, forget about rottentomatoes, its critics' 77% average, and its audience's 54, and hie thee to your neighborhood art house before the Academy Awards March 2.
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