Victorian England may have seen the earliest stages of women’s suffrage, but it was still a time that had some pretty strict rules governing marriage and the role of women. One of them is essentially divorce is something that happens rarely and only in extreme cases. One of the most infamous events about this is the marriage and divorce of Euphemia “Effie†Gray to then famous art critic John Ruskin. You can imagine the backlash at the time when this occurred.
Recently this controversial event was turned into a movie called “Effie Gray†with Dakota Fanning in the lead role and the screenplay written by Emma Thompson. As with any movie of this caliber, doing a film adaptation of a real life event means knowing what to add and what to take artistic license with. Director Richard Laxton and Thompson have worked out a way to balance out the two.
Throughout the movie we see Effie’s struggle with what amounts to an empty and abusive marriage. Since this is the Victorian Era, Effie handles it by just taking it throughout most of the movie. Of course, there are scenes of her staying away from her husband as much as possible. The entire time they are in Venice is a perfect example. She spends the majority of her time with Rafael (Riccardo Scamarcio.)
In fact, the only time we see her be in any way happy is when she’s nowhere near her husband. This may sound contrived and pretentious to some, but in a way it works perfectly. This movie shows (albeit in a “vanilla†way) how a shaky marriage is. Effie is unhappy and even losing her hair when she’s anywhere near her husband and full of life when he’s nowhere near.
The acting is pretty solid. Dakota Fanning proves that if you give her a well written script she will give you a top notch performance. Even in scenes where she’s going completely crazy, which would normally be comedic given how these scenes are usually shot instead make you feel her emotional state. Greg Wise puts in a performance that accompanies Fanning nicely. Their chemistry is sound to the point where they actually feel like a real life married couple.
Props should go to Fanning who puts on a spectacular performance of Lady Eastlake. Her character is supposed to be what Effie is supposed to be if her marriage got better. She does come off as a sort of wise old mentor figure to Effie which is some ways should waste Fanning’s talent, but she does manage to not make that ruin her performance.
The locations used are London, Venice and Scotland. The only location that stands out is Venice. The city is easy to set in the Victorian Era and the film manages to do so nicely. London and Scotland are wasted as the only locations used are the Ruskin estate and a rundown shack near a lake. Both locations are dull, grey, foggy and not at all nice to look at. This may be because they’re supposed to match Effie’s mood, but instead become unnoticeable.
“Effie Gray†is a well shot, well acted movie dealing with a woman’s horrible marriage and her inability to do anything about it. The movie may not be for everyone due to its historical content, but if you’re looking for a serious period piece with some strong connotations then this film is one of the best out there.
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