Review of Angels & Insects

Introduction

Literary adaptations are difficult to pull off especially costume dramas. There is the expense of the costumes, getting suitable Actors (the capital is deliberate) and the script needs to be of very good quality. It looks like this film has tried to show all this visually-useful when forcing dialogue through the actor`s mouths slows down the action. Done properly it makes the book more accessible

Unfortunately this film adaptation does not make me want to rush out and read the novella it is based on. A.S.Byatt wrote `Morphia Eugenia` on which this is based. I sincerely hope she took the money and ran away.

Video

The colours are pretty good with a wide use of the palette. Amazingly this is a clean transfer what a shame because it`s a film I never want to sit through again. The budget must have been blown on the costumes as they are for the most part stunning-I may need therapy if I am ever to forget the sight of Patsy Kensit in what I can only describe as a bee costume-I kid thee not. Annette Badland plays her bloated mother addicted to cake and fainting. She wears black and guess what she looks like the Queen of the ant colony feeding off the efforts of the workers-yes it really is that obvious folks…

Most of the action takes place around the house and grounds apart from the first minute where Mark Rylance gets to dance with naked native women-presumably that is why he put up with the rest of the film.

Audio

Desperately boring script will not keep you enthralled until the final shock-horror revelation, which just seemed obvious to my devious brain. There is only one good line if only the rest of the film lived up to it. The cast list is very impressive but it all comes to nothing. Anna Massey is silent for the first half of the film, presumably because she had nothing to say. Kristin Scott Thomas has to spout her feminist principles whilst trying not to trip over her tongue. Mark Rylance performs his role admirably and Patsy Kensit plays herself-enough said.

The music seems to have drained from my consciousness already.

Features

Thankfully only the trailer that contrives to give away the `shock` ending. Watching this instead of the whole film will save you 114 minutes of your life that can be better spent doing anything but watching this film.

Conclusion

Give this film a wide berth. It is a load of pretentious twaddle that gives British films a bad name. I can`t think of any redeeming features to make it worth even renting. A fine cast staggers through the boring and overblown critique of the bloated aristocracy yada yada. A very good antidote to insomnia.