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Plot Summary
The intrepid François Ozon delivers possibly the most unexpected film of his unpredictable career. Based on a 50s novel by English writer Elizabeth Taylor, ANGEL is an opulent rags-to-riches tale in which Ozon recreates, in his own idiosyncratic fashion, the style and look of the great Hollywood studio melodramas of the thirties and forties. Stars Romola Garai, Sam Neill, Charlotte Rampling, & Michael Fassbender. ANGEL tells the story of a grocer’s daughter (Romola Garai) who dreams of becoming a famous writer and inhabiting the gorgeous country mansion that she often walks past but cannot enter. Angel pours all her fanciful romantic longings into flowery prose that eventually attracts the attention of a well-heeled London publisher (Sam Neill). Fame soon follows, washing over her like a tidal wave. With the plush excesses of Angel’s life in London supplanting her former homespun existence, Ozon summons up a candy-colored world of fantasy and illusion in a series of stunning set-pieces. Official Selection, Berlin and Toronto. From IFC Films.
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Rotten Tomatoes Movie Reviews
TOMATOMETER
50%- Reviews Counted: 22
- Fresh: 11
- Rotten: 11
- Average Rating: 5.1/10
Top Critics' Reviews
Fresh: The French director Francois Ozon has taken Elizabeth Taylor's beadily satiric novel and transformed it into a droll and somewhat disturbing fantasia on the creative temperament.
Rotten: Choosing to clothe his whole movie in the outre frocks of a bad Technicolor romance, Ozon serves up camp fun, but that's it.
Rotten: But this really is a failure - an honourable failure, arguably, but a failure, and a pretty complete one at that.
Fresh: The film bristles with contemporary subtext and takes swipes at mediocre artists who believe their own press, and the culture of celebrity.
Customer Reviews
Very Disappointing
This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen from almost every perspective. The acting is horrible, the writing is even worse, and many of the scenes were filmed in such an incompetent way as to be laughable (for example, witness the several scenes in which persons were riding in cars, with backrounds literally flying by--realistic is not a word I would think of in describing it). You can watch the entire movie expecting it to get better, as I did, but it doesn't. Save your money on this one and rent another.
Seriously?
I was catching up on some of Michael Fassbender's filmography when I saw this film. Whoa, is it bad! The writing, the direction, even the basic plot centered around the insipid character of Angel Deverell, is just ridiculous. However, I will say that Fassbender, Russell, and O'Neill manage to act well in the film, despite the awful material and cheesy effects. This should have been a TV movie if even that for the way it was done. I do not recommend seeing this film, avert your eyes, save your neurons.
You have to get it...
This movie is a drama... a love story. If you are looking for a comedy or something with a happy ending, no, this movie isn't for you. You have to understand love, and unrequited love specifically. This movie is about following your dreams and dealing with harsh realities. This movie is about timeless, unrequited love for all the main characters. Each one loving someone that would never love them back the way they wanted. You have to have the emotional depth to understand the point of this movie. The main character lives in a fantasy world... and the actress who portrayed her did it amazingly. The scenes that look unrealistic are SUPPOSED to look that way! It's about fantasy and reality, about love and understanding. Just because it isn't everyone's cup of tea doesn't make it a crap movie. You have to get it...
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- $19.99
- Genre: Drama
- Released: 2009
- © 2006 Fidélité Films, Headforce 2, Scope Pictures, Foz, Virtual Films, Wild-Bunch, France 2 Cinéma