“We played with a lot of games, and I didn’t know the rules.” The love drama “I Capture the Castle” ("I Capture the Castle) is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by the English writer Dodi Smith, who became famous all over the world thanks to the animated adaptation of her book “101 Dalmatians” by the studio “Walt Disney Pictures” in 1961. But it is the novel “I Capture the Castle”, which, according to experts of literary genres, has the right to be called modernist, takes the honorable 82nd place in the list of two hundred best books according to the BBC media channel. The film adaptation was taken by director Tim Faywell, who until 2003 already had more than fifteen works on television (for the sake of fairness, we note that later Tim Faywell remained to work on the series), and the script was handled by Heidi Thomas, also directly related to television. The main roles were played by Romola Garai, Bill Nighy, Rose Byrne, Tara Fitzgerald, Henry Thomas, Mark Blukas and Henry Cavill.
In the center of the plot is the Mortmayne family, where the father of the family - James Mortmayne (Bill Nighy) - harbors the hope of writing a new book, although twenty years have passed since the release of his first novel and during this time he did not write a line. His wife, Topaz Mortmayne (Tara Fitzgerald), pays no attention to the general decline of the estate, where her family lives, while leading a bohemian life. This mother went to the eldest daughter – Rose (Rose Byrne) – who constantly hovers in the clouds. And only the other daughter of the Mortmaines - Cassandra (Romola Garai) - decides at all costs to return the former social level of the family. This can help two brothers of American Simon (Mark Blukas) and Neil (Henry Thomas) Cotton, who came to see the Mortmayne castle, being the direct owners of this property. And if you marry their daughters, then you could say goodbye to all the money problems, as well as stay in the favorite estate. Only fate and true love, not forced, will place their accents in this piercing story.
An informed viewer in English cinema can immediately imagine the style and entourage of how the film “I Capture the Castle” will be staged and is unlikely to make a mistake in anything, because the general parameters and details of typical productions in a purely English style of purely English literary classics have long been secretly approved. Particular attention is paid to the scenery, makeup, hairstyles and costumes to recreate the most prim and at the same time sublime era in the history of English culture. Already from the first frames of the film it becomes clear that the masters from a technical point of view coped with the recreation of the entourage and stylistics, but do not assume that it will cause puppy delight, there are films where it was done much better. But I would like to stress once again that the specialists have coped with the task. A little stunned by the work of the cameraman Richard Gritrex, at one time nominated for an Oscar for his work on the film “Shakespeare in Love”. For some reason, Gritrex chose very dark tones, which made it necessary to strain his eyes and look closely. Here are perhaps the two most obvious flaws in “I capture the castle.”
Now it is time to talk about what the creators of the film adaptation of English classics managed. And in the first place is a powerful, sustained, sensitive and expressive play of actors. Romola Garay for the role of Cassandra was approved for the British Independent Film Award (the English equivalent of Sundance). Perhaps she became a protégé of Bill Nighy, because he is one of the curators of the award, but in any case, Garai deserved it, playing so delightful that you look at her and literally feel what her character feels, and there is a whole gamut of emotions. One can understand why Romola dropped out of school after this role and focused entirely on acting. Bill Nighy is flawless in the role of a fit and true Englishman, which, in principle, he always makes pronounced. Well playing her role Rosa Byrne was completely pushed to the background by Romola Garai, but fans of Byrne’s talent should not be too upset, because Rose did her job properly and left pleasant impressions by embodying a complex image. Well, it is interesting, very interesting to watch Henry Thomas, who became a star at a very young age thanks to the main role in “E.T.” Steven Spielberg, and Henry Cavill, who is now all identified with the comic hero Superman.
Once again, the British prove to everyone that they are perhaps the best directors of films that are based on the classics of their literature. And the world has a decent number of fans of this type of film adaptation, reading the novels of Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters, so I do not advise such a viewer to skip the drama “I Capture the Castle”, or read the book first, and then watch its adaptation. And even if the book is better, which is quite common, it is worth watching the picture because of the play of Romola Garai (although it is known that she has ardent haters).
7 out of 10
