Not gonna write anywhere near as much as I felt I might write about this one, as with my last review it’s a case of right now or write never This TV movie reminded me of a lot of other movies – from Whistle Down the Wind to Heavenly Creatures (Geraldine McEwan’s Mother very like the mother in that movie at times), An Angel at my Table (probably just the ginger hair I’m thinking of) and Breaking the Waves, but more ultimately of My Summer of Love, which to me it resembles beyond the mere lesbian factor. In the end, like “My Summer …”, the movie kind of fizzles out when it feels like it ought to explode. An IMDb reviewer noted the movie’s “plainness”, and when I first read that, following the first part, though I agreed with them, I thought the plainness worked in the movie’s favour … and it does, but to a point.

Most of all I was glad the movie doesn’t suffer from “Jane Eyre” syndrome – the entire first third of the movie is dedicated to a pre-teen Jess, and the actress is so perfect and compelling, I dreaded the inevitable growing up – but Charlotte Coleman fills the girl’s shoes not only brilliantly but almost seamlessly for the remaining bulk.

I was surprised to find the movie was made in 1990. I was initially under the impression that it was from the same era of Ken Loach’s “Poor Cow”, “Kathy Come Home”, and the like, and even as the movie began, the production design is so terrific I still would never have imagined it was made so late were it not for familiar faces like Celie Imrie and David Thewlis. Rachel Portman’s music is a minor giveaway, too, once it gets going, but it’s still all surprisingly old school.

I’d’ve personally liked it to be a little more electrifying, but it’s still highly recommended.

“Is she saved?” “No, but she’s nice.”

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 27th, 2006 at 9:51 pm in 4 hearts, Movie Reviews and tagged as hysteria, lesbian, religion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.