Based on the novel by Dodie Smith (101 Dalmatians), director Tim Fywell's comic romance follows 17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain (Romola Garai) and her quirky family as they attempt to make the best of their meager existence in a crumbling English castle. While her father (Bill Nighy) has been struggling for over a decade to repeat the success of his debut novel, her beautiful sister Rose (Rose Byrne) frequently voices her displeasure with their current situation, and nudist stepmother Topaz (Tara
Fitzgerald) proves little help at much of anything. The arrival of American landlord Simon Cotton (Henry Thomas) and his brother Neil (Marc Blucas) provides a glimmer of hope as the initially repelled Rose soon takes a liking to Simon and the two arrange to marry. Lost in the chaotic shuffle of marriage plans and increasingly complicated relationships, the hapless Cassandra soon begins to blossom into womanhood as she experiences aspects of life that were heretofore unknown to her. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Dollops on the usual romantic, family and class conflicts with a very heavy ladle, which pretty much smothers the whimsical mood Fywell strains so hard to attain.
The fancy-pants accents and period costuming make one feel intellectually smug, as if the afternoon had been spent watching a Merchant-Ivory film - only without the tedium of actually sitting through a Merchant-Ivory film.
If anything the things that went down in this film really surprised me. Who knew that the guy was going to make out with Cassandra? And then he doesn't get together with her? Crazy! But what really wins out in this film is the setting. I was never sure what period this was set in because the atmosphere and the quirky
family and the wacky costumes recalled everything, from the 1800s to the 1920s to the 50s. Wow!
No quotes approved yet for I Capture the Castle. Logged in users can submit quotes.
Submit a Quote from 'I Capture the Castle'
A quote can be a single line from one character or a memorable dialog between several characters. Please make your quotes accurate. Quotes will be submitted for approval by the RT staff.
Example:
Luke: Alright. I'll give it a try. Yoda: No. Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.
Top Critic
