Angel (2007/I)

Director:

François Ozon

Writers:

Elizabeth Taylor (novel)
François Ozon (written by)

Release Date:

14 March 2007 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A dreary city tenement provides backdrop to this tale of exclusion and the magic it takes to become accepted.

Plot:

The rise and fall of a young eccentric British writer, in the early 20th century.

Plot Keywords:

Rags To Riches | 1900s | Publisher | Author | Mother Daughter Relationship

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Romola Garai	...	Angel Deverell
Sam Neill	...	Théo
Lucy Russell	...	Nora Howe-Nevinson
Michael Fassbender	...	Esmé
Charlotte Rampling	...	Hermione
Jacqueline Tong	...	Mother Deverell
Janine Duvitski	...	Aunt Lottie
Christopher Benjamin	...	Lord Norley
Tom Georgeson	...	Marvell
Simon Woods	...	Clive Fennelly
Jemma Powell	...	Angelica
Alison Pargeter	...	Edwina
Seymour Matthews	...	Norley Doctor
Una Stubbs	...	Miss Dawson
Jo Perrin	...	Publisher's secretary

Runtime:

134 min | Germany:119 min

Country:

UK | Belgium | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Netherlands:12 | Germany:6 (cut) | Canada:PG | South Korea:15 | Hong Kong:IIB | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:7 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Cuddington, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Fidélité Productions

Trivia:

When Garai first went to the audition for this film, the director turned her away because she was looking too 'rough'. The actress came back again, all dressed up, and ended up winning the role of Angel.

the melodrama dilemma

Hmmmm... if the reviews and comments I've seen are any indication, melodrama is as divisive as ever. I found Ozon's approach admirable: intelligent and objective but not satirically distanced, like Fassbinder without the cruelty. It seems clear to me that he is showing us not a realistic depiction of Angel's life but a version colored by her imagination. The intention is not to mock her but to allow us to share her experience, and to make up our own minds about the value of her fantasies. The closest to an authorial statement comes from the character least sympathetic to Angel: Charlotte Rampling as the publisher's wife comments that in spite of Angel's lack of talent or self-knowledge, she has to admire her drive to succeed. Of course we're not compelled to agree, but it strikes me as a fair assessment.

The reactions to this movie remind me of the uncomprehending dismissal of Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette, another story of a shallow, self-involved woman that insists on looking through her eyes. This kind of scrupulous generosity is in line with a tradition going back to Flaubert's Madame Bovary, and both directors have the stylistic confidence to carry it off. It may just be that they don't have the critics they deserve.