Rose & Cassandra

Right off the bat I possess serious prejudices regarding the film. One being that the book that it was based on is my favorite book in the entire world. I first read it when I was seventeen, I have since read it about thirty times, so I know the story and the characters so very well. I did watch the film with equal anticipation and dread (like most people do when their favorite book is adapted to film) and I was slightly pleased and often disappointed. I think the key to the book and how it works is the constant sense of restraint and keeping certain things a mystery. One never found out much about the mother she was more of a ghost that wasn't truly important. And I wasn't keen upon the fact that they made a bigger deal about her, and took the film in a direction that was quite different and shall I say over-dramatic for the tone it should have set. I did find it to be a nice little film, definitely fun for those who favor frock films, and pleasant to see a film where it isn't neatly tied up at the end. (which is a bit like the book, but again in a different sense) I do understand it is difficult to cover a book in a two hour movie, thus I think it would have been a much better idea if they had made it into a mini-series. Then there would have been proper exploration and it would have stayed much more true to a book I adore.

I was enchanted by the cinematography, the actors and story. This is the way a movie should be made, with heart, humor and depth. A washed up and blocked writer for a father, an off the wall artistic step mother, a beautiful but pragmatic older sister and brainy little brother land in a picturesque but run down castle and scratch out a living while waiting for father's next great novel. Told from the point of view of a young girl coming of age, we see choices of survival, love and blunders of youth. From the very start of the movie I felt swept away by the story and acting. I wanted the story to go on........ 10 stars

An eccentric and well-born English family in the 1930's tries to cope with genteel poverty, while the two stunning teenage daughters of the family experiment with passion and romance.

Main thing you need to know: Romola Garai is not only lovely, she's an acting genius. Her fresh, innocent blond beauty rivets your attention, and she hits the right note in every scene -- curious, defiant, tender, lonely, confused, caring. She not only hits the right note, she often hits two or three right notes at once. Watch her animated facial expressions and you'll see she always gives you more than one emotion

The problem with this movie is that it tries to be too many things. One minute it's a sexy teen romance, like DIRTY DANCING (which also starred Romola Garai.) Then it's cerebral satire of long-forgotten intellectual types, like COLD COMFORT FARM. Then it's some kind of Masterpiece Theater type thing about newly rich Americans in England, and what fools they are for European elegance. Derivative themes and a thin plot with too many familiar stereotypes.

There are too many supporting characters, and aside from the luminous Romola Garai none of them are especially sympathetic. Marc Blucas was pretty good in JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB. Here he shows more muscle-power than talent. Henry Thomas is getting too old to be playing boyish and innocent. Bill Nighy as the eccentric dad has some authentic moments, but was a better patriarch in UNDERWORLD. ("Lycans, daughter. The lycans took my talent. Lucan and his kind . . spoiled my taste for f-f-f-fiction!")

There is one extremely interesting sub-plot about a local village lad the heroine thinks of as a friend, who worships her and is rejected. In an unexpected twist, a wealthy older woman seduces him and takes him to London, where he becomes a successful actor/model. The film handles this in a sensitive way, neither pitying the young man nor condemning him for giving in to his wealthy female protector. Unfortunately, this most interesting sub plot is only given a few minutes of screen time.

Summing up, then, this movie is something you must see only if you are a fan of the phenomenally talented Romola Garai. Other than that, it's really a hit or miss movie, and some parts are very thin.

I CAPTURE THE CASTLE, despite its protagonist being a young 17-year old girl, offers a universal theme: love is beautiful and great, and it can also hurt. Everyone who has ever been a teen knows what the lead is going through -- unable to distinguish between love and lust, or even how the opposite sex feels about you. It's a magical time in a person's life, but it's also extremely frightening and confusing. So wander through the mine fields of love with care, but also know that the hurt can't possibly last, and will soon enough be replaced by another love.

7 out of 10

(go to www.nixflix.com for a more detailed review of the movie)

This is such a wholly captivating romantic study in human values with deep personal growth for basically all the main characters, that it's like a breath of fresh air in comparison to the sleaziness of what gets regularly stamped out by the Hollywood machines. On one level it's a `coming of age' story, in that it is presented from the point of view of an adolescent girl's search for meaning in life, but it is so much more than just that. The relationship issues are strong and poignant, never tawdry or sensational. People make mistakes for all too human reasons, but they also learn from them and grow. We are left with a sense of hope and inspiration, and not just a fairytale promise. The details of the story are not otherwise important as an introduction. It is wonderful to see!