Talk of Angels

This was a very boring movie for me, I have to say. There was no excitement, no real emotions, no passion... Just a fake dramatic romance, set on purpose during a political turmoil (any kind will do...), like so many movies are, without anything political to say (...fascist or royal regimes are mostly preferred). So what we get is a typical romance, with old-fashioned, TV-style direction and over-dramatic performances with extra schmaltz. Yes, exactly like a Mexican soap opera. (Mexicans, don't take it personal, but in Greece a lot of Mexican, Brazilian etc. soap operas are on TV every day). So, if we get so many soap from our TV sets, why should we watch one on the big screen?

I enjoyed this movie, since I tend to like movies about longing and love. Vincent Perez has eyes that just melt the screen and Polly Walker is breathtakingly gorgeous. I liked the interaction between her character and her Irish friends - especially Frances McDormand whose face says so much with hardly a word.

I think it would have been better if they showed a little bit more interaction between Vincent P. and Polly. Loved the actress that read the poem aloud. Her voice is oddly soothing.

Also, got a kick out of her friend with the kooky hat!

I know this is the type of movie that is more of a woman's movie - I know my husband could probably not sit through it.

It may be the oldest storytelling device in the world.

You take external events, usually a war or some political oppression. You draw grand sweeps that show passion and scope and boundless consequence.

And in this opulence of effect you place a love story, folded within if you wish.

After all, there is no emotion in existence that is stronger than romantic love and all its twists and perversions. But these are impossible to display because they are internal. So these internal locomotives are given the external clothes of the other fold.

How many of our great stories are thus framed? How many films?

Well, here's one. I suppose you judge these things on how powerful the emotions are that the love story evokes. This is a sort of "Casablanca" with the genders reversed. The woman needs to stunt her passions and "give" her lover to the higher fold, and live forever with the memory of one encounter.

I admit, this rings solidly for me. I shake when I shape it in my heart.

Back to the judgment: how effectively is this expressed in a way that the film plumbs and guides the waters of the heart it pulls. Does the thing give us tides?

Well, the people are beautiful. But oddly, we know these actors from elsewhere and they have been more beautiful there. In particular we depend on Polly Walker here. She has an extraordinary appeal in other projects. "8 1/2 Women" was a difficult movie to survey, but once it sticks, it is Polly who pulls us through the canals of desire. "Enchanted April" was slight but she was powerful.

She acts with her brow and has one of the most appealing brows in film.

But, alas. Although lots of money was spent. And the sets are effective, we have something like "Head in the Clouds" where we know what we are supposed to get. And we might get it by mere suggestion but the film actually gets in the way.

So the bad guys win this time. No passion.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

"Talk of Angels" tells of a betrothed Irish woman (Walker) who leaves her strife-torn homeland to take a job as governess to a wealthy family in Spain where she falls in love with a married man. The film, based on the writings of Kate O'Brien, is an attempt at a lavish and rich romantic tale set against an epic backdrop of Spanish civil war (circa 1930's). However, the screenplay tries to do too much for the allotted run time resulting in a weak, diluted, and ill-focused story of nebulous purpose, meaning, and significance. "Talk of Angels" will likely play best with mature women and incurable romantics. (C+)

Note - Viewers who enjoy this film might be interested in a parallel film, also with Penelope Cruz, of the same period but different genre, "Belle Epoque".

I really wanted to love this movie. I did love Vincent Perez, who always imbues his characters with smoldering good looks and charm and fine character. But there was no motivation for their romance, other than the fact that he was a man and she was a woman, and the movie was a love story. We never see why he falls for her, especially since he is rarely in the house with her. More chemistry is generated between Lavelle and her friends, and between herself and the family she takes care of. And the ending, without giving it away, made the movie kind of pointless. Rent it for Vincent, not the story.