Camilla Dickinson

It's always fun to see a new young actor in a film. And when you see three promising stars in one movie, that's a rare treat. Camilla Dickinson stars Adelaide Clemens, Gregg Sulkin, and Colby Minifie in a beautiful coming of age film. It's based on a novel by Madeleine L'Engle who wrote it several years before penning her famous Wrinkle in Time classic.

The story takes place in the late 1940s and is set in New York City. Camilla (Adelaide Clemens) is from a wealthy family and lives a relatively sheltered life. Her best friend is Luisa Rowan (Colby Minifie) and the two of them share all their secrets and dreams. Camilla's parents are constantly battling, mainly over her mother having an affair. Luisa's parents don't exactly have a harmonious relationship either--they're both drunks and her father is a borderline bum. Camilla begins to look for an outlet by befriending Luisa's brother Frank (Gregg Sulking) who has an unwarranted reputation for being a bit of a hoodlum.

I'm not sure why the critics panned this film. I thought it was an absolutely sweet film. I also really enjoyed the beautiful soundtrack--it added to the emotional impact of the movie. And the sets and costumes perfectly captured New York in the late 40s. Ms. Clemens reminded me a little of a young Michelle Williams. She hails from Australia and she did a great job of losing her accent. I think the future looks bright for all three young stars.

4 out of 5 stars.

This little movie was never the kind that would be a blockbuster hit, but on top of that it was produced right in the middle of gigantic worldwide movie events.... Iron Man and Captain America and the Avenger saga... and it vanished like a whisper.

That doesn't change the fact that 'Camilla Dickinson' is a great, great film. Adelaide Clemens gives us a gorgeous example of a personality trait which is almost unknown to the public. It is extremely common for brilliant people to be socially awkward, repressed, introverted, incredibly shy. Indeed they are often seen as a little odd, or eccentric. The hermit next door.

Her father, played to perfection by Cary Elwes, is her role model. He is hyper-intellectual, hyper-driven to success, and has driven his wife to distraction and to love-starved affairs. Camilla too is starved for affection, and when she meets her first love, all that awkwardness comes to the fore. Her brilliant mind is steadily before us too; age fifteen, she's off to one of the great universities of the world.

Set in 1948, 'Camilla Dickinson' moves very much like a love affair from the Golden Age of Hollywood, at a slow tempo, at an adagio, matching the slower pace of life among the wealthy before computers and internets and cell phones accelerated all our lives into an unrecognizable blizzard of technology. But an adagio has a power all its own, a deep musical river with currents of enormous force that can move the listener with melodies that ring on and on in the mind.

A whisper also has a power of its own. It is, after all, the voice of love.

I saw this last night (20 May) at the Seattle International Film Festival. I was very impressed by the range of emotions displayed by the young actors in this movie,especially Adelaide Clemens((Emily Dickinson),Gregg Sulkin(Frank Rowan)and Colby Minifie (Luisa Rowan). I laughed, I cried and I throughly enjoyed this movie. Kudos also go to Cornelia Moore for directing such a fine cast of young actors and a few old pros, whom you might recognize. This movie will tug at you heart strings as it tell the story of pure young love. I recommend this movie to everyone who enjoys period coming of age movies in the style of the 40s and 50s.