Angel - 2007 - 6/10
Cracker factory tour.
Director François Ozon’s previous English movie,
The Swimming Pool, was a razor honed drama about a cynical mystery writer in the vein of PD James or Ruth Rendell.
Angel swings about and follows an Edwardian scribbler of melodramatic, romantic kitsch (based on Victorian powerhouse author, Marie Corelli, now forgotten).
Romola Garai portrays the narcissistic, delusional, borderline insane writer, Angel Deverell.
Garai commits 100% to this role and is wonderful. You detest her, laugh at her misconceptions, and feel sorry for her. Her literary success proves there has always been an audience for junk, though the herd will, eventually, shift toward different junque.
For travel sequences, Ozon uses obviously fake rear projection, to show Angel’s addled perceptions. The house where she lives, Paradise, is spectacular.
Charlotte Rampling, Sam Neill, and Michael Fassbender, top a strong cast.
I enjoyed this a lot, but others around me held a lower opinion, annoyed by the satire and florid production values. All roundly disliked Angel.
Bad movie fans, rate this much higher.