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Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Critic Consensus: No consensus yet.
All Critics (24) | Top Critics (6) | Fresh (13) | Rotten (11)
Charmingly low-key, the British coming-of-age drama "Albatross" offsets slack plotting with creative casting and sensitive performances.
The lack of subtlety makes the story's familiar beats only more obvious.
The performances are compelling (although Jones is underused) but the thin narrative is less instructive of the strange way female friendships operate than of the way stories get recycled.
Albatross shifts from indie fairy tale to farce, only to accept its fate as a coming-of-age melodrama.
Innocence is lost -- as well as 90 minutes of your precious, precious time.
It's an interesting premise; though despite being evidently autobiographical in origin, the fictional treatment has made it look sentimental and unreal.
Although it may lack the rawness or intensity of an engagingly slick drama, Albatross is charming and peppered with good humour.
To see such a talented array of actors working in unison with such a sincere, witty and multi-faceted script is an utter pleasure.
There are dimensions to Emelia that are welcome, but often rudely condensed by director Niall McCormick, who burns through the picture in 85 minutes, never lingering long enough on domestic tension or behavioral awareness.
A serving of teenage angst with a side order of syrup which, like the films of John Hughes, treats both characters and audience with respect and affection.
Newcomer Brown Findlay brings some laughs and energy to an otherwise predictable tale of family strife that is modestly compelling but ultimately forgettable.
Yes, the title of Albatross is a metaphor. In fact, the eponymous bird shows up not as a figurative chokehold around the neck of simply one character, but at least three.
"Albatross" starts with a kiss between Emilia Conan Doyle(Jessica Brown Findlay) and Jake(Harry Treadaway) before the firecrackers. That explains why Emilia gets to ride in a police car on the way to her first day of work as a maid at a guesthouse where Beth(Felicity Jones) is tending the front desk while studying, so her dad(Sebastian Koch) can pretend he is writing upstairs while actually masturbating. So, it is a surprise to Beth's mother(Julia Ormond) that Emilia gets invited round to dinner, to which she brings a bottle of wine that she flashed her ID for. "Albatross" starts promisingly enough but then stalls in a sea of quirkiness. That's not to mention going the old tired route of a disruptive force introduced to a family going nowhere and liberating everybody. And with predictable results. Plus stereotypes. The writing angle might have had a chance if played correctly which it isn't as it is thrown to the curbside in the most desultory manner imaginable. Instead, it seems all the characters are suffering under the weight of the past, especially Beth who has to deal with her parents. However, the actors do a good job trying to breathe life into such cliches while very much out of their usual comfort zones. Nice scenery, though.
Super Reviewer
Decent movie. A little slow. Nice ending...
Excellent movie free spirited girl meets strictly raised girl and the fun begins, all while the free spirited girl has an affair with girls father, my review sucks the movie is outstanding, a must see. 5 stars 10-1-12
Cast: Felicity Jones, Jessica Brown-Findlay, Sebastian Koch, Julia Ormond, Harry Treadaway, Josef Altin Director: Niall MacCormick Summary: The studious life of Oxford-bound Beth is turned upside down when would-be novelist Emelia takes a job at the seaside hotel owned by Beth's family. But things get dicey when the free-spirited Emelia begins a fling with Beth's feckless father. My Thoughts: "I enjoyed the characters more then I did the film itself, if that makes sense. The problem I had was the relationship that unfolds between Emeilia and Johnathan. I just didn't like it nor did I really think it was necessary. Being a daddy's girl myself, I thought Beth and her father's relationship was sweet. Her mother was a, well I don't wanna use such vulgar words considering I have been warned. But you must know what I was gonig to say. *cough bitch* : } Emeilia is my favorite character in the movie because I seem to lean towards the more tortured souls. Although she is smart and has a talent for writing, she is stuck. Stuck with no real education, since she was kicked out of school, and stuck taking care of her grandparents and with dead end jobs. So you want to root for her and for things to get better for her as well. I liked Beth as well, and the two together had a nice balanced friendship. Great acting and characters with an OK story-line makes this movie worth seeing at least once."
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