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MOVIE REVIEW
I Capture the
Castle
(2003)
Starring:
Romola Garai, Marc Blucas, Rose
Byrne
Director:
Tim Fywell
Rating: R
Studio:
Samuel Goldwyn Films
Release Date: 7.11.03
Review
Posted: 7.25.03
Spoilers:
Minor
By
Sara Michelle Fetters
"I Capture
the Castle" Fails to Ensnare the Heart
When they
were young, the sisters Mortmain thought their father was
transporting their family into a fairytale. A famous author,
James Mortmain (Bill Nighy, “Blow Dry”) came upon the idea of
just how lovely it all would be for him and his family to escape
the hustle and bustle of 1930’s London life by moving into an
old castle. Country life would be perfect for them, keeping the
horrors of the city away from his young ones and allowing peace
and quiet to facilitate in his own writing.
But eccentric
actions don’t always pan out in ways they were intended. Now, a
decade later, the author has been remarried to odd-bird painter
Topaz (Tara Fitzgerald, “Brassed Off,” “Sirens”) after his
former wife’s untimely – and mysterious – death. And with the
castle slowly falling down around them, daughters Rose (Rose
Byrne, “City of Ghosts”) and Cassandra (Romola Garai, “Nicholas
Nickelby”) are going slowly stir crazy. Rose, especially, lusts
for something more from life, knowing the extent of her
existence can’t be made to having to endure the daily grimy
grind of such stumblebum living.
Enter Simon
Cotton (Henry Thomas, “Gangs of New York”) and his brother Neil
(Marc Blucas, “They,” “We Were Soldiers”). Recently come into
the inheritance of the land and castle of which the Mortmain’s
are leasing, Simon’s at first excited about meeting the famously
aloof author and his family. But after Rose does everything but
throw herself at his feet he finds himself amusingly aghast
after witnessing all of the family’s eccentricities. In fact,
the elder Cotton is nearly quite sure he never wants anything to
do with the Mortmain family ever again.
Still, there
is something charming about this fortress clan, and once Rose
settles down, she’s awfully endearing. And while Cassandra is
ever-so quiet, there is also an alluring intelligence about her
that sparks interest from both brothers whilst Simon’s mother
the Lady Cotton (Sinéad Cusack, “Stealing Beauty,” “Waterland”)
has her eye on the writer James himself, much to the chagrin of
Topaz.
Based on
Dodie Smith’s (“101 Dalmatians”) acclaimed and timeless novel,
director Tim Frywell’s “I Capture the Castle” is a cute and
endearing early 20th century romantic comedy that
unfortunately follows all-too familiar terrain. At its heart a
love quadrangle involving the brothers Cotton and the sisters
Mortmain, it nevertheless has to work overtime to bring about
the warmhearted smiles the film so blatantly longs for.
Not that the
whole thing isn’t perfectly charming on certain levels. Both
Garai and Byrne are quite nice as the two impassioned sisters.
Garai, in particular, almost steals the show with her subtle,
introspective take on the literary-minded Cassandra. Watching
her grow from timid wallflower into a self confident dynamo –
unafraid to speak her mind to her love-scheming sister or her
self pitying father – is a treat, and the actress’ sexy
underplaying of her growing attraction towards the older Cotton
is quite sublime. But Byrne more than holds her own as the
free-spirited Rose, the young actress showing a depth of spirit
and a spark of life absent from much of her more recent big
screen work.
But, as with
many other recent early period romances, it isn’t the acting
that’s the problem. The entire cast is quite exceptional all
around, especially veterans Cusack and Nighy. If anything, “I
Capture the Castle” teeters on the edge of tedium due to a
complete lack of originality and far too much in the way of
genre familiarity. It would have helped immensely had Frywell,
most known for his cable film “Norma Jean & Marilyn,” or
screenwriter Heidi Thomas, also making the jump from TV to film,
shown some sort of spark of creativity with the film. Instead,
the rely upon many of the same motifs and panoramic images (and
emotions) that have been found in turn-of-the-century romances
stretching from 1934’s “Little Women” to Ang Lee’s
Oscar-winning “Sense & Sensibility.”
Fry, in
particular, directs as if he’s on autopilot. “I Capture the
Castle” doesn’t as much move from scene to scene as it just
lazily get around to them. There is an inert staginess to it all
that’s almost narcoleptic, and it is only because of the cast’s
insistence on making something out of their director’s nothing
that it any of it even remotely works.
But when it
does come to life, “I Capture the Castle” is quite a charmer. A
wondrous meeting at a campfire where a childhood ritual becomes
a precursor to courtship is simply lovely, Richard Greatrex’s
(“A Knight’s Tale”) lush cinematography coming breathtakingly
alive and full of passion. I also found my heart breaking during
a particularly heartfelt confrontation between the two sisters,
both Byrne and Garai playing this anticipated moment beautifully
and with unexpected dimension.
If only
the movie didn’t feel so common and routine. The performances
are so good, and much of the technical work is so spot-on, I’m
almost willing to give it all a pass in spite of itself. As it
is, though, “I Capture the Castle” is nothing more than a
semi-diverting way to spend an afternoon at home, not even
remotely worthy of a ten-dollar layout at your local movie
theater.
Rating:
êê1/2
(out of 4)
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