Albatross

I watched this movie because I'm a fan of the director, Niall MacCormick - whose career I've tried to follow after I was impressed by his work on Toby Whithouse's series, "The Game" on BBC2. I admit this to provide context & to justify why I'm probably a bit lenient with my review but whilst I can forgive most of Albatross' flaws & tonal inconsistencies (due to the bags of sheer personality it possesses, the outstanding performances from Felicity Jones & Jessica Brown Findlay - who have phenomenal on-screen chemistry together - & the enjoyable sense of humour the film has), I am undeniably aggravated by the extremely unfortunate ending - which fails to satisfyingly acknowledge the gravity of the situation & who's in the wrong here; the father. Thus, I do feel as though they do a disservice to victims of sexual abuse by placing responsibility on the shoulders of the victims of predation, rather than the perpetrators with their depiction; Emilia is unforgiven whilst Beth's dad is, even though the scenario which unfolded involved one fully grown adult (who's culpable & should be held accountable) & another character who's a child, by her own admission... Yet the minor bears the weight of that responsibility & has to accept the consequences when Jonathan doesn't? The reasons for this creative decision are probably obvious; those at the helm were seemingly intent on retaining the light heartedness in its final few moments & veering in to such uncomfortable territory would've taken the final act in to a much darker direction. Hence, they opted to conclude with a bitter-sweet sense of poignancy; two friends going their separate ways, changed somewhat by their shared experiences captured here etc. But intentionally ignoring the elephant in the room feels careless & reckless, sending completely the wrong message to audiences - potentially ruining what could've been a really great movie, had it had the guts to do what was right & call out his behaviour for what it really is. A well-intentioned indie flick, but tainted somewhat by this, nonetheless.

In the evocative location of the Isle of Man there is Emelia Doyle, a teenager who lives with her grandparents (her mother committed suicide, her father disappeared). She tries to become a writer because she is convinced that she is a descendant of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but in the meantime she only scrapes together menial jobs; then there's a failed writer, Jonathan Fischer, author of a single successful novel on which he lives off a pension, without being able to write anything decent anymore; finally there's the writer's daughter, Bethany, a young girl with no experience due to parents unable to let her go, who aspires to continue her studies at the coveted Oxford University. A charming comedy with three characters who don't have the courage to take a step forward in their lives: they help each other, almost without wanting to, to give themselves a push, to "rewrite", to become aware of themselves. The film is convincing thanks to a certain irony that amiably mocks the characters, to the delightful naive grace of Felicity Jones (Bethany), to the irreverent, cheeky, sensual but also tenderly defenceless humanity of Jessica Brown Findlay (Emelia), who in the end manages to get rid of her alibi for doing nothing with her life (the albatross around her neck of choleridgian memory) and starts writing seriously. A little-known, rather neglected comedy, but definitely worth a look.

Why have I never heard of Jessica Brown Findlay? She makes such an appealing protagonist in this film, which is about the friendship and eventual rift between a conservative, proper girl (Jones) and a big personality wild child who comes to work for her father's hotel (Findlay). This a small movie, but it'll keep your attention. It's got the typical inter-relations between the new intruder and the father, the conflict that arises between the two girls, and the wild child's breakdown. Worth a watch. And someone in the future has got to let Findlay show the kind of star quality she exhibits here.

The screenplay was completely believable and the performances were top notch across the entire cast. It's a small story of regular people living regular lives, so no bombast was necessary or desired. Once again, I am disgusted by the film critics assessment of this film. What do these supercilious, arrogant pseudo-writers want? I'm sick of these intellectuals passing judgment on quality works such as these.

Thus it is in this story. Jessica Brown Findlay is Emelia, and her last name is Conan Doyle. She fancies herself as the great granddaughter of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of the Sherlock Holmes character. This is her albatross, she expects great things of herself as a writer, but at 17 (actually in her 20s) she seems to be out of sorts, not happy with her writing or where her life is taking her. She needs to earn a living. Both her parents have died, she stays with her nice older grandparents. So she takes a menial job cleaning rooms at a local inn owned by a writer who once had a famous book some 20 years earlier. But there she meets the daughter of that family, Felicity Jones (actually in her 20s also) as 17-yr-old Beth, who is a rules- follower, unlike Emelia who knows no rule. They form a bond of sorts which eventually is strained when Emelia flirts with then begins an affair with Beth's author dad. Conveniently for this film, the age of consent in England is 16. Also the Isle of Man, where this was filmed. So the arc of the story involves Emelia getting the albatross off her neck, and the start was finding out her real last name was Doyle, and not actually related to the famous author. Interesting and often funny movie. I found it on Netflix streaming movies.

It is hardly surprising that I repeat sentiments expressed in previous comments about the arrival of a great new British talent, I refer, of course, to Jessica Brown Findlay. In what would have otherwise been an unremarkable coming-of-age movie Findlay( 'Emelia') manages to transform the mundane. This lady's love affair with the camera and her audience was so complete that I felt sorry for that other rising British starlet, her co-star, Felicity Jones ('Beth'). It reminded me of the way that an emerging Angelina Jolie took over 'Girl Interrupted'much to the chagrin of the film's major star Winona Ryder. Findlay has that indefinable something, call it stage presence, that Jones doesn't. Unfortunately Jones also suffers from the same problem encountered by Sarah Michelle Geller in her mid-20s that of having the face of a perpetual fifteen year old! It would appear that Jones can go on playing schoolgirls into her thirties. Steady employment maybe but not so clever if you want to be accepted as a serious actor. The film has some solid character acting from such stalwarts as Peter Vaughan as Emelia's wise old granddad, Julia Ormand as Beth's embittered mother and Sebastian Koch, as Beth's one-book-wonder father with a midlife crisis. Good writing also, that broadens the characters and gradually enables the viewer to realise that it is not only Emelia who carries an 'albatros' that is stunting her ambition but all those around her are also burdened in some manner that is preventing them from moving on. In endeavouring to lift her burden Emelia alters their lives by the sheer impact of her personality. Interestingly two years elapsed between production and release of this film. One wonders if the studio, realising that the hitherto unknown JBF was becoming a star (Downton Abbey), had decided to rework the film and publicity to reflect her new status. If so I think the studio made the right decision.

A seaside inn is run the Fischer family, consisting of two daughters and their parents. Their lives are in a rut as they mark time, day to day. When we first meet Emilia, she is lighting firecrackers and dropping them in a barrel, inciting action by the local police. She is an irreverent 17-year-old who likes to break the rules and shake things up. When she is introduced into the Fischer household, she is like a spark that lights a fuse. The actions that follow are sometimes predictable, sometimes not. But the result of this volatile situation is what the viewer must wait for. The film's title is a reference to Coleridge's Albatross; the film reveals how it applies differently to three of the characters. It is up to the viewer to determine in what other ways the title refers to burdens the characters must bear. Albatross is a delightful film. The story is charming even as it is fraught with dangers. The acting is top notch. I would not change one performer. The background music ranges, appropriately, from whimsical to poignant. This British film is a drama filled with comedy. And it shows how life's resolutions sometimes come from tragic moments.

Emelia Conan Doyle (Jessica Brown Findlay) claims to be a descendant of the great writer Arthur Conan Doyle. She takes a cleaning job at a seaside hotel owned by Jonathan Fischer (Sebastian Koch). He's struggling with writer's block and holed up in the attic. He has combative wife Joa (Julia Ormond), bookish daughter Beth (Felicity Jones), and six year old Posy. Emelia befriends Beth who is applying for Oxford. Emelia claims to be a writer but she can't live up to her family name. As Jonathan mentors her, they begin an affair. Jessica Brown Findlay and Felicity Jones are both lovely although this movie may be better if there is a darker, sexier edge. This plays more like a light relationship drama. The story suggests an eroticism that this movie does not have despite Findlay flashing her * comically. There is a darker edge that nobody is able to deliver other than Ormond. The story, the performances, and the tone don't completely click.

'Albatross' tells the story of a dysfunctional family (living in the Isle of Man) and all the cliches are on display: louche, middle-aged writer as a father; sympathetic, intelligent daughter; troubled, troublesome and sexy daughter's best friend; younger child with the knack of saying inappropriate things; mother-turned-harridan by the stresses of keepinng them all together. The soundtrack is obvious and plodding, too, and while the gorgeous Manx landscape is attractively filmed, I'm a bit baffled by the fact that characters apparently leave the island not by ferry or air, but by road. The ending is also bizarre, the "best friend" has supposedly wanted to be a writer, but having done nothing to encourage us to take that ambition seriously, the film suddenly asks it to serve as the crux of the its dramatic climax. Sadly, I've seen more offensive and incompetant movies, I've seen few with less orginality.

The story centers round the lives of the two girls Emelia played by Jessica Brown Finlay and Beth played by Felicity Jones both extremely beautiful girls, Jessica bears striking similarity to both Megan Fox and Rachel McAdams. Emelia is a girl whose live is filled with bittersweet moments she works in The Cliff House the B&B owned by Beth's parents as a cleaner while living with her grandparents and her grandmother suffers from Alzheimer's. Emelia has a daring and fun approach to life while being sarcastically funny on the way. However she finds comfort in the fact that she believes she is related to the author Conan-Doyle who wrote Sherlock which she mentions on numerous occasions. She goes on to have an affair with Beth's father the struggling writer which makes you feel is due to her lack of a father figure in her life. This part is very well played by Jessica Brown Findlay who is not only beautiful but a talented actress. What really struck me was the scene in which Emelia questions her Grandfather played by the wonderful Peter Vaughan about if her surname is really Conan-Doyle the emotion is very moving to say the least and its a pivotal scene in the film where Emelia starts anew and becomes happy in her life, that everythings going to be OK. Beth is a studious girl, quiet and composed. She sees Emelia as both a friend and a role model to her. Beth wishes she could be daring and bold like Emelia. She is sandwiched between her bickering parents played by Julia Ormond as the pushy mother and Sebastian Koch her struggling writer father. The hilarious Oxford Scenes were brilliant with Beth and Emelia letting loose (Beth looses her virginity). There is a OMG moment when you're left hanging waiting for the pregnancy test and you ask the question Is her life now ruined? What is she going to do? A part also well played by Felicity Jones and contrasts well to Jessica's Emelia performance the both compliment each others performance. The scenery is breathtaking the sunsets lights the film and fits the mood that trying to be put across and the theme of the film e.g. The girls are ending one chapter of the their lives and entering another. The ending was OK but I felt the could of shown a lot more, but overall I liked this film a lot my congratulations to Cast,Crew,Producers an Director. A very good film