From: pc
Category: Films
Date: 14 November 2001
After waiting for this review for more than a day, it was always going to be something of a disappointment, and I was not blown away as I'd hoped to be.
Ironically, the review's problem might be that it is too faithful to the film. Suffers from the same defect other emails suffer from i.e. one half is introduction to the review, other is a (rather weak) resume. I felt she was trying to cram in too many plot details and this resulted in some rapid syntactical jumps. People not familiar with Viv may have difficulty following the email at points. She fails to explain some of the details - her relationship with Jane Potter, why Kate wears a turban
She achieves a nice balance between humour and poignancy. Comic moments are very well done.
Interior of her Wapping home good - suitably dark and gothic, but exteriors too bright and sunny. Exterior of Paul's new flat looks too much like a gothic interpretation of the Disneyland castle. Paul increasingly far too Dickensian.
Viv's punctuation a little disappointing. Special effects lets her down in parts. Roisin is very obviously CGI but Sir Richard and Ashley are well animated.
Acting generally good. Daniel from Trinity Hall (Jane Potter) a bit erratic. He's good at subtle, not so good when he's required to get angry. Oliver also good, though not posh and languid, as he's described in the email.
Adults are only as good as their character. Viv is best when the pace slows down. These, however, are minor quibbles and, as I'm a big fan of her review, very much my taste.
Overall conclusion, good but not great and I am left with the view that Vivienne Russell may be unfilmable.
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