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Ammonite (2020)
Such a disservice to two brilliant real women
Well, the best part of the film - in my opinion - was right before James McArdle put on his night-shirt. Followed very closely by the sound of the water during the beach scenes - something I miss due to where I live now.
As others have lamented in this review section, the focus was almost entirely on the lesbian relationship, which apparently was not even known to happen between these two women. Why do that? I had read up on them before watching the film, and was looking forward to not only the visual aspect of a Victorian story, but being enlightened, as it's not a subject with which I am really familiar.
I'm not objecting to sex scenes, but they didn't seem to belong here at all, given what has been said about the fact that we are not aware these two women had that sort of relationship. Charlotte's age was dropped by quite a bit, and her skills and accomplishments were completely wiped out! I mentioned this to a friend and he said it would be like making a film about Keats and Shelley, putting them into a relationship, and ignoring the fact that Keats ever wrote any poetry at all.
I felt this had great potential, and would have been happier if it had been made to show what we do know about the two women, and let those who wanted to make a lesbian romance film go ahead and do that separately!
Vikings: Valhalla (2022)
In the shadow of the original Vikings series
Being a history buff, I was pleased to see Vikings: Valhalla come along, and am okay with overlooking anachronisms, time slippages, and blended costumes if the acting is great, the script riveting, and the visual effect brilliant. However, I did find that - as I mention in my title - this does seem to be in the shadow of the original series of Vikings. Maybe it tried too hard, I don't know, but I didn't warm to the characters, and found with each episode I wasn't sure if I'd stick around.
So why did I? Well, David Oakes! He was marvellous playing baddies in The Borgias and Pillars of the Earth, but I was sorry to see him so low-key in this, lingering or floating around in black robes, although he did put his expressive eyes to good use. I felt he was wasted, but perhaps if there is another series Godwin's story will be beefed up and he'll be able to show more of his well-proven acting skills :)
Traces (2019)
Enjoyable, with one exception
I'm giving this 7 out of 10 because although I found it enjoyable, the actress playing Emma seemed so wrong for the role. As others have said, she looks too young, is monotone, and it felt more as though she was in an early rehearsal for the role rather than the finished product.
I like Martin Compston and Laura Fraser, and have always enjoyed other productions when they are in the cast - and the actor playing the detective could flirt with me if he wanted to! Both seasons were good, I binge-watched it while working on a craft project, so being focused on that - plus the rest of the cast being good - was what probably helped me to stick with it despite the just-so-wrong Emma.