Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageAngel (2007)
Director: François Ozon
Movie review
From Time Out London
Prolific French director François Ozon has amassed a cheerfully idiosyncratic, if inconsistent, body of work over the past decade. True to form, his latest is something of a headscratcher: a curious, highly stylised English-language period adaptation of a novel by the enigmatic early-twentieth- century novelist Elizabeth Taylor. It details the bumpy rise to fame of the wayward and naturally talented pulp author Angel Deverell, who is brought to life by a game, rough-around-the-edges performance from Romola Garai.Despising her modest upbringing, Angel’s lively imagination is brought to the attention of Sam Neill’s nurturing publishing agent, and when her fluffy romantic prose strikes a chord with the public, she dives headlong into a stormy romance with Michael Fassbender’s fiery painter. As with Ozon’s salty chamber drama ‘Water Drops on Burning Rocks’, ‘Angel’ feels like it’s been patterned on one of Fassbinder’s late period ‘women’s pictures’, with the central character exhibiting similar egotistical dimensions to, say, a Petra von Kant or a Veronika Voss.
However, this film lacks the passion, verve and subtle meaning that came naturally in the work of Ozon’s German inspiration. And while there is a strange satisfaction to be had from a lead heroine who’s not constantly baying for your affection (often, it’s quite the opposite), Ozon’s film plays a difficult hand, never settling for all-out high kitsch or straight melodrama. One of the year’s most charming failures.
Author: David Jenkins
Time Out London Issue 1984, Aug 28-Sept 3 2008
Cast & crew
Director: François Ozon
Cast: Romola Garai, Sam Neill, Charlotte Rampling, Jacqueline Tong, Lucy Russell, Michael Fassbender full cast
Rated: 15
Duration: 119 mins
UK Release: Aug 29 2008
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 50 greatest monster movies
As Joe Johnston’s long-awaited reinvention of Universal’s howl-at-the-moon classic ‘The Wolfman’ hits cinemas, Time Out lists our 50 favourite cinematic stalkers, growlers, slashers and biters.
Mark Kermode: A life in film
Dave Calhoun chats to Britain's most outspoken film critic and pundit ahead of the release of his memoirs
Has Ricky Gervais gone all serious?
The trailer to 'Cemetery Junction' suggests that its writer-director is suppressing his funny bone.
The genius of Roman Polanski
Ahead of his new film, 'The Ghost', we must forget the media circus and remember the artist pleads Wally Hammond
Oscars 2010: The nominees
Tom Huddleston offers his acute analysis on the list of nominees for the 2010 Academy Awards
Rotterdam 2010: Geoff Andrew's report
Geoff Andrew finds rich leftfield pickings at the 2010 Rotterdam Film Festival
Can Tom Ford cut it as a director?
After ten years as creative head of Gucci, Tom Ford has directed his first movie. Nina Caplan meets him
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
So here it is… Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this.
2009: The year in film
We look back at the best movies of 2009 and pick out some of our favourite lists, features and interviews.
What do you think?
Post your review now