The premise sounds very promising. As soon as one starts watching, however, the problems become evident. I can't speak to filmmaker Jason Figgis in any other regard because I don't think I've seen anything else he's been involved with, and likewise for anyone else participating here. One way or another, what all too readily comes across in 'The ecstasy of Isabel Mann' is that the writing and direction are both troublesomely direct, and bereft of any tact or nuance, and it's hard to derive any entertainment from this.
Frankly, all too little here comes off well. The dialogue and scene writing are often altogether blunt and always rather gawky, especially with Figgis' direction being much the same. The character writing made me ask, again and again, "wait, what?" I trust that the cast would illustrate their abilities if given the chance elsewhere, and I hope that Figgis has developed his skills in the past ten years - yet under his guidance here, the acting is either overcharged or just flounders, and each scene follows in kind. As one example, consider Inspector Witham: All Cops Are Bozos, we know this, and that Figgis spotlights this in his screenplay is a point in his favor as Witham is an incompetent, bullying oaf. On the other hand, for as heavy-handed as the writing and direction is, and for as overzealous as the acting is in turn, scenes with the man just become actively aggravating instead of a meaningful part of the storytelling. As another example, while in the first half scenes set in the park give us the desired blood and horror violence, each instance is either painfully painfully forthright, or wholly robbed of the power it should theoretically boast.
There are some good ideas here, but mostly the storytelling is desperately flimsy; the sinister fun that should arise from the concept is nowhere to be found. The first scene that seemed to actually achieve some much needed vibrancy, and felt like it was coming off just right, came about about the 45-minute mark more than halfway through - but the longer that scene goes on, the more it falls apart for all the stated reasons. The second scene that seemed to achieve a spark, and came off well, arrived ten minutes later - but meets success only in fits and starts before tumbling downhill and ultimately just raising a highly skeptical eyebrow, crashing what remained of my possible favor. The last twenty minutes just sputter out into nothing. I'm supposing there are folks who do enjoy this, but I don't know how they manage it.
I wish those involved only the best, and may they grow in their skills, find success elsewhere, and impress me. 'The ecstasy of Isabel Mann' is dull, poorly conceived, and poorly executed. Whatever it is you think you're going to get out of it, you should keep looking and pass this right on by.
