Effie Gray

 

Effie Gray 2014

Director: Richard Laxton

Seen by this director: River, Fortitude

Based on the book: no

Cast: Dakota Fanning, Greg Wise, Tom Sturridge, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters, Russell Tovey, David Suchet, short appearances by Robbie Coltrane and Derek Jacobi

Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:

Dakota Fanning – Once upon a Time in Hollywood, American Pastoral, The Runaways, War of the Worlds, I Am Sam

Greg Wise – Walking on Sunshine, Cranford, Tristram Shandy, Johnny English, Sense and Sensibility

Tom Sturridge – The Hollow Crown, Far from the Madding Crowd, The Boat that Rocked, Being Julia

Emma Thompson – The Children Act, Alone in Berlin, The Love Punch, Beautiful Creatures, Harry Potter, Nanny McPhee, Stranger than Fiction, Angels in America, Love Actually, Wit, The Winter Guest, Sense and Sensibility, In the Name of the Father, The Remans of the Day, Much Ado about Nothing, Peter’s Friends, Howards End, Dead Again, Impromptu, Henry V, Fortunes of War, Tutti-Frutti

Julie Walters – Mamma Mia 1+2, Brooklyn, One Chance, The Hollow Crown, Harry Potter, Becoming Jane, Wah-Wah, Driving Lessons, The Calendar Girls, Before You Go, Billy Elliot, Titanic Town, Intimate Relations, Prick Up Your Ears, Educating Rita

Russell Tovey – Years and Years, The Lady in the Van, Pride, Doctor Who

Why? The cast.

Seen: 3 December 2021

      

       Effie Gray (Fanning) marries artist and critic John Ruskin (Wise) and leaves her childhood Scotland to live with him and his parents in their mansion in London.

       His overbearing mother (Walters) inform Effie that his genius must be left in peace. Effie finds that her only role is to pose for his paintings and be a decoration at his dinner parties with London’s intellectuals and their wives.

       She finds an ally in the outspoken Lady Eastlake (Thompson, who also wrote the script).

       It’s a grim portrait of Ruskin and a fascinating portrait of Effie Gray. It’s a slow, moving, and beautiful film.

       

4 * of 5.

PS This is the 1000th film I've reviewed on this blog.