The Invisible Woman
2014
Rated R
111 minutes
Starring Ralph Fiennes, Felicity Jones, Kristin Scott Thomas, Tom Hollander
Directed by Ralph Fiennes
2014
Rated R
111 minutes
Starring Ralph Fiennes, Felicity Jones, Kristin Scott Thomas, Tom Hollander
Directed by Ralph Fiennes
At the height of his career, Charles Dickens meets a
younger woman who becomes his secret lover until his death. [IMDb]
A scant
two years prior to my entering college, the juicy morsels of Charles Dickens’
private life surfaced in a then-new biography by Claire Tomalin. When I studied
his work at university, the details of his messy separation and his secret
relationship with Nelly Ternan were a hot topic. From what I understood,
Dickens was no picnic to be around. He was believed by many to be
temperamental, vindictive, ego-centric, and insensitive – all of which was
counter to the literary works he produced and his philanthropic habits. So naturally, I expected to
encounter an unlikable Dickens in the Ralph Fiennes-directed film The Invisible Woman.
There is
certainly enough evidence, especially regarding the details of Dickens’ cruel
treatment of his wife prior and post separation, to prove or deny the historical accuracy of this depiction. Fiennes does do a fine job painting
the popularized image of the famed author with a deft brush. He captures the man’s
genius, which garnered adoration not entirely dissimilar to that of today’s
A-List celebs. But, perhaps, he’s treated too reverentially in this
portrait…because there’s really no getting around his dirty laundry.
Felicity
Jones, who portrays Dickens’ young mistress (she was 18; he 45 when they met),
brings us a brooding and haunting performance of a woman forever pursued by the ghosts of her
past. She does a good job of expressing the conflicts of her unique
relationship with Dickens. At first, she balks at the idea of being the other
woman, but through no lack of encouragement on her family’s part (specifically
her mother, played by Kristin Scott Thomas, who saw Dickens as a financial
shelter for her struggling family), but eventually she acquiesces into what clearly becomes devotion.
The film does
offer us an interesting peek into Dickens’ private life, but I’d recommend
reading some of the historical accounts to gain a fuller perspective. On its
own standing though, it’s a fine period piece that’s satisfyingly engrossing.
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