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I CAPTURE THE CASTLE Send This Review to a Friend
The richness of a novel permeates "I Capture the Castle," which in fact is based on the 1948 novel written by British writer Dodie Smith. As a film it also makes a good yarn with interesting characters who come alive thanks to a worthy cast, an intelligent screenplay by Heidi Thomas and equally intelligent direction by Tim Fywell.
Set in 1934, the story is spun from the perspective of Cassandra (Romola Garai) a younger daughter who has kept a diary detailing and reflecting on the life of her family. Her father, Mortmain (Bill Nighy), is a once acclaimed novelist who served a prison term for attacking his since deceased wife and is withdrawn and depressed. The family moves into a run-down castle, where Mortmain hopes to regain his muse. He now has a new and younger wife, Topaz (Tara Fitzgerald), a former artist's model.
Cassandra's older sister Rose (Rose Byrne) increasingly hungers after material things and is determined to marry someone who can provide them. Although as self-centered as she is pretty, she believes she wants to marry well to help her family. The sisters have a younger brother, Thomas (Joe Sowerbutts), and there is also Stephen (Henry Cavill), who is somewhat of a member of the family and does work around the castle without pay.
Suddenly, with the death of the landlord to whom Mortmain owes two years rent, the heirs of the estate arrive--Mrs. Cotton (Sinead Cusack) and her sons Simon (Henry Thomas) and Neil (Marc Blucas). The family will never be the same. The sisters fall for the same brother, but it is Rose who gets the shot at marriage with Simon, and so the complications begin.
The plot develops slowly, and the film gains from the way the engrossing narrative unfolds and the character portraits that emerge. We witness the change from teenage romantic ideas to the reality of confronting the emotions of love as the sisters mature. The resolutions are not glib, which lifts the film from the realm of soap opera. Visually, there is attention to detail and setting and, given its other attributes, "I Capture the Castle" is generally engrossing. A Samuel Goldwyn Films release.
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