Filming Locations: Harrow School, Harrow, Middlesex, England, UK
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia: Ralph Fiennes and Felicity Jones, who play lovers in this movie, also worked together in Cemetery Junction (2010), in which they played father and daughter. In a 2013 interview with Jones and Fiennes on NPR, Jones said that it was "weird" and "very Freudian" to go from playing one relationship to the other, but Fiennes disagreed, saying "It's just a job. Come on." See more »
User Review
Author:
Rating: 7/10
With The Invisible Woman being the second feature in which Ralph
Fiennes tackles Charles Dickens, you may say that the thespian, already
known for his love of Shakespeare, has developed a new romance with
English literature.
With Fiennes at the helm, this biographical drama, based on the book by
Claire Tomalin, takes a stroll into the private life of the public
figure, Charles Dickens. Although The Invisible Woman positions itself
at the heart of the Victorian literate, this is in fact the story of
Nelly Ternan (Felicity Jones); hence the title.
The bulk of this character-piece plays out as a flashback, as the
narrative oscillates between the world of Dickens and the world
post-Dickens. The mysterious title refers to the young Nelly, an
avid-admirer of the literary colossus, as she enters into a secret
affair with her idol. She spends the best part of her youth amorously
involved with the writer, but given that Dickens was a lot older, it
was inevitable that she would outlive her lover.
Alone with her thoughts, Nelly, dressed in mournful black, marches
along the beaches of Margate like a sleepwalker in the night, tormented
by the loss of her companion; she must find a way to bring that chapter
of her life to a close so that she may now move on.
The picture paints Dickens as the talented and charitable man that he
was, however we are also privy to a more sinister side of the
wordsmith, as we learn of his malicious actions towards his wife
(played by Joanna Scanlon).
The camera takes its time, as it soaks up the brilliant performances of
the cast and Abi Morgan's (Shame, The Iron Lady) masterful script
provides a titillating narrative, as it transports us to the Dickensian
period. Ultimately, The Invisible Woman stands as a beautifully crafted
piece of filmmaking, however, it somewhat pales in comparison to
Fiennes' earlier, more vigorous work. Anthony Lowery
0