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Film Review Friday: Firelight

Jaili — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 16:09:22 +0000

Film review: Firelight (1997)

Grade: A-

Genre: romantic period drama (UK/USA)

Dear William Nicholson,

I was challenged to find and review a period romantic film that isn’t an adaptation. I was all for it until I discovered finding the task wasn’t as easy as I thought.

All I could find were the adaptations of works by Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Margaret Mitchell (Gone With the Wind), Baroness Orczy (The Scarlet Pimpernel), Barbara Cartland, Oscar Wilde, Frank Yerby (The Foxes of Harrow and The Golden Hawk), Pierre Choderlos de Laclos (Les Liaisons Dangereuses), E.M. Forster (Maurice, A Room With a View), Anya Seton (Dragonwyck) and many others. I had hoped Captain Blood, The Horseman on the Roof and River Lady wouldn’t be adaptations, but they are. Damn you, Rafael Sabatini, Jean Giono and Frank Waters.

The originals I did find-’such as The Abduction Club, Vidocq, Tugboat Princess, Lady Jane, and Brotherhood of the Wolf-’can’t be easily found on DVD world-wide. O world, why art thou taking the mick?

I was about to fall on my knees in defeat when I remembered one of my role models Sandra Goldbacher (an awesome BBC history researcher and documentary maker) wrote and directed a film, The Governess (1998). I tried to get a copy from the dept when they suggested your film, Firelight, which was released that year and has a similar storyline. And it’s widely available on DVD. Yay! Let’s do a Snoopy dance, everyone!

The film opens in the year of 1838 with Swiss woman Elisabeth Laurier (Sophie Marceau) attending a formal interview with a middle-aged woman in an armchair and a mysterious gentleman who’s hiding behind a decorative screen. Both are there to ask Elisabeth questions, which slowly reveal the interview is conducted to assess Elisabeth as a potential baby maker.

Elisabeth is desperate enough to do this interview to help her debt-ridden father. The mysterious gentleman is a British aristocrat in need of an heir. And he’s a married man whose wife is ill. He has a valid reason to acquire an heir as soon as possible, but at this stage, we don’t know that reason.

The mysterious man tries to pretend he’s asking on the behalf of another gentleman, but Elisabeth’s strong will and determination force him to discard the pretence in order to answer her questions. With their names still withheld, Elisabeth and he agree they will have sexual intercourse at a hotel on the Normandy coast for three nights.

Their first encounter on the first night is soaked with stiff upper-lip civility. Elisabeth is relieved to discover this man is a reserved, quiet man with perfect manners and an anxiety not to distress her so much. The second night melts away the awkward invisible wall between them. The third night, sex becomes a lovemaking session, which surprises and secretly delights both. But alas, when the morning comes, they must part. Nine months later, Elisabeth gives birth to a newborn, which is immediately taken from her. But her father’s debts are finally cleared.

Six years later, Elisabeth is hired by Constance as a governess to Constance’s niece who lives with an English aristocratic in the Sussex countryside.

Upon her arrival, Elisabeth quickly discovers that the niece, Louisa (Dominique Belcourt), is an antagonistic spoiled brat who’s mistreated her previous governesses enough to make them quit in protest. She could see she’s in for a tough time when Louisa openly scorns her.

As Elisabeth quietly battles with Louisa’s difficult behaviour and getting know to Louisa’s home consisting Louisa’s clearly ill mother, Louisa’s aunt Constance who has the house under her control, and the house servants that view her as a grey area between them and the aristocratic family, she slowly settles in.

When Louisa’s father, Charles Godwin (Stephen Dillane), returns from a long trip, it’s a shock for him and Elisabeth to see each other because Charles is no other than the mysterious man who spent three nights with her many years before. This means the difficult child Louisa is actually Elisabeth and Charles’s daughter.

Elisabeth is also disoriented to see Charles’s father, Lord Clare (Joss Ackland), openly mocking his son Charles’s embarrassing venture as a sheep farmer, even though it’s his irresponsibility that forces his dutiful son to take up the sheep-farming business to save their ancestral home from an all-too-real potential financial ruin. And that Charles’s American farmer friend, John Taylor (Kevin Anderson), is slowly falling in love with Elisabeth with all intentions of making her his wife.

Above of all, Elisabeth and Charles are discomforted by a realisation that the quiet bond between them, borne from those three nights many years before, is still very much alive.

It was tough to summarise Firelight as a spoiler-free synopsis because Firelight relies heavily on the breath-taking cinematography, subtle dialogue and the cast’s sometimes-understated solid performances. There are also many subtleties and nuances in these that are best left to be discovered by viewers at their own pace.

At this point, I should admit I have never liked having a governess as the heroine, in fiction and films. Two reasons: I deeply disliked Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and after working on a documentary series about Victorian-era governesses, the reality a typical governess had to face is all too real for me to hold the suspension of belief.

Many real-life governesses tended to have difficult and unhappy lives. They didn’t fit in with the servants because they were socially above their station, and they didn’t fit in with the family because they were below their station. This means they led lonely lives, which made their lives revolved around their wards. When wards grew up, these governesses were either discarded aside to fend for themselves-’or left alone as spinsters living off tiny lifetime allowances made by their devoted adult wards. More than not, many governesses were mistreated by their "adopted’ families, and many governesses mistreated their wards without fearing the consequences because their employers left so much trust in their hands. We have heard the stories of abuse, humiliation, rape, criminal neglect and other heart-breaking experiences. It’s a strange and complex world where a governess can rule their wards with an iron fist and yet can be a victim of their employers’ sometimes painfully insensitive whims.

All this is the reason why I actively avoid stories that feature governesses. The reality isn’t pretty at all and I didn’t believe anyone could soften that reality. You’ve proven me wrong with Firelight. I believe it’s because you lightly acknowledged that reality-’especially with the scenes of Elisabeth’s interactions with both the servants and the family as well her social isolation–without compromising the love story you wanted to realise.

I still can’t believe you’ve succeeded where no historical romance authors so far have succeeded. I’m not sure what to make of this, let alone acknowledging I may have been sexist for really believing that no man could make it work.

You did well with the casting, too. Sophie Marceau’s presence and looks have made Firelight one of best looking period dramas in years. Her acting ability is usually a hit-and-miss affair, but she did well with Firelight. She seemed real as Elisabeth and a woman of a time when life wasn’t easy. To be honest, I fell in love with her through Firelight. She looked so breath-taking. Is that shallow of me?

Stephen Dillane’s take as an angst-filled man, trapped by his strong sense of responsibility and duty, was solid as well. His character wasn’t easy-going or fun-loving. In fact he seemed a dull man, and he was. And yet whenever he was with Elisabeth, he–subtly but clearly–came alive. I must credit you and Dillane for this quiet but amazing performance. Although not traditionally handsome, he had the charm and presence; just enough to make my eyelashes flutter like crazy at him whenever I see him since the film.

I felt a lot for Godwin’s wife who seemed to suffer the worst of luck. I admit that with historical romance novels, I tend to feel sorry for heroes’ wives, usually because romance authors tend to demonise them to justify heroes falling in love with other women, namely the heroines. I always felt this was unfair and cowardly of authors to do this. But in this case, you didn’t demonise Mrs. Godwin, which made it somewhat easier for me to sympathise with Elisabeth and Charles’s dilemma.

Louisa, the product of Elisabeth and Charles’s three-night encounter, was truly a visitor from Hell. Much kudos to young actress Dominique Belcourt for making her character so unsympathetic and yet, a lonely and vulnerable child. Oh yes, many times I wanted to strangle her, but bit by bit, her performance won me over. I must stop writing further about the cast. In short, all these actors did well in Firelight. This must be because of your direction.

However, despite my enjoyment of Firelight, there is something that- I don’t know if it’s me, but more than once, I felt the story was hollow and to be honest, I don’t understand why. It had it all – the sublime cinematography, the solid performances, the rich side of storytelling, the almost fairy-tale feel, these quiet erotic moments, all these wonderful details of that bygone era and the best of all, the HEA.

And yet it still left me slightly cold. I just wasn’t that emotionally involved with the story.

Firelight pressed all the right buttons in me; I sympathized, I cheered, I awwed, I almost wept, and everything you might want from me, but although I still can recall the wonderful imagery of the film, I forget the story and its characters as soon as I shut down the DVD.

I’m thinking the reality of a typical governess’s life may have put a glass pane between me and your story, but I do recognize its strengths, which means I can push the original grade B to grade A-. I do think it deserves grade A- because considering other period dramas that aren’t adaptations, it’s unexpectedly elegant and romantic.

In short, it’s a must-see for romance readers enjoyed stories by Judith Ivory, Mary Balogh and similar historical romance authors.

Be good, be bad and be safe,

Jaili

Firelight trailer: not available. However, if you want to see what the film is like, there is a fan-made video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeK3s7u1NNk Beware: it has a couple of major spoilers.

VIDEO REVIEW: Courtesan’s Daughter by Claudia Dain, All Four Parts

Jane — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 19:56:01 +0000

And you thought we would never finish (me too frankly). I actually had a post in draft that said “I’m sorry but we’ve come to the conclusion that three parts is enough for any video review.” But last night we dragged ourselves into the dungeon and finished our project.

You can read the text review here of The Courtesan’s Daughter which can be purchased in trade paperback. Or just watch the interpretive Lego video. Will there be another Lego video review? Not bloody likely.

REVIEW: The Courtesan’s Daughter by Claudia Dain

Jane — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 20:19:48 +0000

Dear Ms. Dain:

Ned and I read your book a while back and decided to create some lego stop motion animation videos to reinterpret our thoughts. I know, we took some heavy license with the story so here’s our proper review.

Lady Caroline Trevelyan is the daughter of the late Earl of Dalby; the sister of the current Earl; is fair in form and face; and is very wealthy. Girls like her have no problems making brilliant matches unless your mother is an infamous former courtesan. She has come to the conclusion that she was unmarriageable and she wanted to be married; to be loved and adored like her mother.

“The same could happen to you and for you. You are your mother’s daughter.”

Yes and no, and that was the problem. She was Sophia’s daughter, the daughter of a former courtesan, and therefore her pedigree was a disaster. And yet, though she was Sophia’s daughter, she had none of her fire, certainly none of her mystique, and most definitely none of her experience. Fully intentional on her part, on both their parts to be honest, yet it left her in the strange situation of being chillingly proper and completely unacceptable in the same instant.

Lady Sophia Dalby recognizes that her past has tainted Caroline’s future and sets out to buy her daughter a husband. She chooses Lord Ashdon, the son of a former nemesis of hers. Lord Ashdon has been gambling away money he doesn’t have in order to exact a revenge that his father had dreamt up. Ashdon was shaking his head before Cal had even finished. “I cannot. His hurts, his wounds, are mine.. Ashdon, however, isn’t prepared for either Lady Sophia nor her daughter Caroline.

Caroline, however, having lived in the shadow of her mother for all her life, refuses to have a husband who was bought by her mother. Caroline is spoiled and immature. She has difficulty understanding what she wants. She only knows that she sees her mother as the most desirable creature alive and herself as less. Caroline decides to be a courtesan, not really comprehending the serious repercussions of such a decision and thus rejects Ashdon. Ashdon is in the humiliating position of being bought by a woman he doesn’t respect, turned down by the daughter of a woman he doesn’t respect, and therefore sets out to make Caroline his courtesan. Only to have Caroline come to her senses and decide that she wants to be a wife but only if Ashdon properly woos her.

Ned and I agree that while there are no sword fights, there is plenty of action in this story. Part of the enjoyment was watching every character move from one position on the chessboard to another and then look back to wonder how they were moved. It’s a story about strategems and bedroom machinations, of manipulations, both overt and so subtle that the reader is never quite sure of what is being orchestrated by Lady Sophia and what simply falls in her lap like a ripe plum.

Ned’s specific thoughts were that you didn’t waste his time with extraneous words or scenes. While the cast was big, they all played a part in the consummation of Caroline and Ashdon’s relationship. He loved Sophia and thought she was very shrewd. It made sense for her to be so savvy about the emotions of individuals and what drove them because only a very sharp woman could use her beauty to elevate herself to such an exalted place in society. Finally, he liked that while the book had him guessing at several points about what would happen next, it never was written to confuse or trick the reader. B+

Best regards,

Jane (and Ned)

VIDEO REVIEW: Courtesan’s Daughter by Claudia Dain, Part 3 of 4

Jane — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 16:22:56 +0000

Part 3 of the Video Review of Claudia Dain’s The Courtesan’s Daughter

CORRECTION: YouTube Will Not Have 30 Sec Ad Bumpers. Choose Overlays Instead

Jane — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 00:16:56 +0000

Gizmodo wrote that it incorrectly reported that YouTube was going to use ad bumpers before video content. Instead, YouTube will have overlay ads. Also annoying but not so terrible as the 30 second ad bumper. Related posts: Ad Content to Infiltrate YouTube Project Catwalk on YouTube Non Sequitur of the Week: Green Eggs and Ham Related posts:

VIDEO REVIEW: Courtesan’s Daughter by Claudia Dain, Part 2 of 4

Jane — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 17:18:39 +0000

VIDEO Courtesan’s Daughter by Claudia Dain, Part 1 of 4

Ned — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 19:30:04 +0000

What can I say? Ned got bored of drawing stick figures.

REVIEW: Karma Girl by Jennifer Estep

Jayne — Fri, 04 May 2007 15:50:05 +0000

Dear Ms Estep,

I was never a comic book fan and it’s been a long time since I read one but I recognized a few givens of the standard American superhero comic book. We’ve got your big city, alter egos, intrepid newspaper reporter, heroes, villains and brightly colored spandex for everybody.

Carmen Cole steps into the dual role of reporter and possible love interest. I wasn’t so sure of her reasoning for spending so much time unmasking superheroes wherever she could. Sure her fiance turns out to be one and she discovers this 1) on their wedding day when 2) she catches him shagging a] his nemesis who is b] her best friend but since superheroes are almost duty bound to spend their time saving the average citizen who needs help and/or thwarting the villains, why is the general public so happy that she exposes them and makes their lives more difficult? The excuse that cities want the superheroes to help pay for the damage they cause while battling villains doesn’t make much sense when compared to the fact that they’re saving the city from villains and crime. Do the people of Bigtown want a nice, neat city that’s under the thumb of the evil Terrible Triad? Or one that’s kept safe by the combined efforts of the Fearless Five even if it’s a little messy? I think I’d opt for messy.

The fact that the people in the story can never easily recognize the superheroes even if the disguise if fairly flimsy and the clues are obvious is standard for comic books. Yet most alter egos are not as flashy and prone to flaunt themselves as those in Karma Girl. You did seem to stick to the Comic Code in that most violence is subdued, authority figures are respected, the details of crimes are vague (though presented as sordid), villains pay for their actions and Right triumphs in the end. With respect to nudity and love scenes, it’s more detailed than your average comic (but not comix novel) book but hey, this is a romance book! The Fantastic Five adhere to the basics of the superhero genre: extraordinary powers and abilities, a strong moral code and sense of justice, nifty identity concealing costumes, special weapons, independence, stories explaining the origin of their powers and as a fantastic headquarters and base of operations, I’d move into Sublime anyday (though I still don’t see how it can operate without any daily servants).

As for Carmen’s love interest, I thought their falling in love was nicely handled. Both were a bit startled by it but took their time and I thought understood each other, until Carmen almost blew things. Carmen is given a good reason to feel guilt for what she did yet she takes the “I’m so not worthy of hero’s love” and guilt complex to extremes. By the end, I wanted to slap her. Though I did like her habit of ruminating with a Rubik’s Cube over drumming her fingers or pacing around. Another area that was problematic was Carmen’s search for the identity of the Five and the Triad. She endlessly searches through articles from the library then when she can’t figure it out, starts searching through that same material all over. That got boring. For me as a reader, the alter egoes of the superheroes were easy to figure out but the villain’s twisted intentions was a nice touch.

I do like the names of both heroes and villains. I think my kitty wants a superhero name. Maybe Clawz or Panthera. And I loved explodia and Mr Frost’s Freezoray. Loved them! The so fit with comic world conventions. The names say it all without requiring lots of explanation and since comics require a suspension of belief and willingness to accept what an author says this is a good thing. Did I miss the identity of two of the Triad or is this To Be Continued in another book? I’m just checking but I would assume there is one given the ending of this one.

I read that a comic book writer has to have good dialogue, a cohesive plot and strong visuals. Your dialogue was good, the plot needed a little work but I could “see” what you were describing. However, comic book heroes usually don’t have much character depth. As per standards the good guys are good and the bad guys are bad but that’s about it. Readers looking for multilayered people in this book are going to have to look high and low. For a quick read and fun time, this book works but for lasting thought, it won’t cut it. B-

~Jayne

***

REVIEW: Real Vampires Have Curves by Gerry Bartlett

Jayne — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 10:00:20 +0000

Dear Ms Bartlett,

I have to be honest and tell you that if this hadn’t've been a review book, I wouldn’t have gotten more than 1/2 way through it. As it was, I kept trying to think positively and flipping pages. At the halfway mark, I started skimming. By the end, I knew I would not be continuing on with you in this series.

Gloriana Eloisa St. Claire is a vampire and has been for almost 400 years. A sexy Highlander converted her backstage at the Globe Theatre in London where she was scandalizing her parents by acting in an age where women didn’t act. But then she’d already disgraced them by marrying a (now dead) actor in the first place so there wasn’t much lower she could go. At least she thought so until she met Jerry, well that’s what he goes by now, Jerry Blade and he’s still one hot, sexy vampire. Currently they’re in the off cycle of their on/off romance and Glory is finishing up a stint in Vegas before moving on to Austin, TX. During the trip, Jerry phones her to warn her that an old friend of theirs has been taken by a vampire hunter. Stunned, Glory gets the details on this new hunter who is treating vampires like big game trophies and who has access to new and sophisticated technology which allows him to stalk them better.

After she arrives in TX, Glory sets up her new business with an apartment above the shop, both provided at a nominal rent by the vampire brother of her new vampire employee, Florence da Vinci (well he did paint her numerous times in Italy). Over the years Glory has aquired quite a collection of vintage clothing (which will happen when you don’t want to throw much out) and she’s decided to clean her closets and pay the rent in one fell swoop by opening a vintage clothing boutique. But will she be able to fend off the overprotective urges of her old lover Jerry, her new wannabe lover Damian, deal with her telepathic over protective dog, run a business and stay unstaked by the hunter?

The first problem I had with the book is the person telling the story. A reader has to like a first person narrator and Glory started getting on my nerves by the end of chapter one. Her Vamp Lit style was never ending yet grating. This is one book which will not age well, I’m afraid but then I think that about most books which use Sex and the City as a guide. I also do not like it when authors describe their characters by telling me which celebrities the characters are supposed to resemble. To me that’s lazy. Describe the person and if I get a mental image, then fine but don’t just say “he looks like Hugh Jackman” or “she looks like Angelina Jolie.”

If you’re going to create your own fantasy/paranormal world, then do the work and don’t just tell me that Glory’s hair still grows by some kind of vamp magic. This is also lazy. Ditto on the shapeshifting. Explain this world or leave these aspects out.

I’m sick of faux Highland dialogue. Don’t go there even in jest.

I never liked the telepathic dog. Not for a minute. Nor the two ghosts who haunted Glory’s store and wrote messages in the dust. And how did Harvey write some of his messages on the counter after the dust was dusted away? Things like that pulled me out of the story trying to figure out.

You have a very large cast of characters and after a while, I started to get all the secondary vampire characters mixed up. Plus the shapeshifters and mortals….

I knew that Glory’s store sold vintage stuff. I knew that she had a lot of vintage stuff of her own she sold and that she bought to be sold. Therefore, I didn’t need to be told that each item she wore or that got sold in the store was a “vintage” something.

Glory has had almost 400 years to get used to her size. She was converted in an age when curvaceous women were the norm and desired. This has been true for most of her vampire existence. Why is she so hung up on her weight? After a while, I just wanted her to shut up about it.

After finishing this book, I realize that at least for now I’ve had it with vampire books. If I had read your book last year or two years ago, the grade might have been higher but when I don’t particularly enjoy the character telling a first person book, when every vampire cliche in the genre gets tossed in plus a telepathic dog and ghosts, when nothing new is done with the genre and when it’s an effort for me to finish a book, then I’m afraid I can’t grade higher than a D.

~Jayne

Demon Angel by Meljean Brook

Jane — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 09:00:47 +0000

Welcome to our inaugural book club selection. I have been reading Meljean Brook’s blog for a while now and when I realized she had a single title release, I emailed her and begged for a copy of her book. She graciously acquiesced and fortunately for both of us, I really enjoyed this book. I’ve been talking it up because the world building in this fantasy romance was remarkable. It really made me think and pay attention which, because I am a lazy reader, I am not always compelled to do. Later today will be Jayne’s review and I hope readers spend the upcoming weeks reading this book and telling us all that you loved and hated. We would ask that any comments on the content of the book be saved for Jayne’s review. That way all the comments are in one place. Come back later and we’ll start up the conversation/debate/snarkfest/heated discussion/lovefest or whatever it turns out to be.

REVIEW: No Rest for the Wicked by Kresley Cole

Jane — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 22:00:35 +0000

Summary: Kaderin the Coldhearted lives to kill vampires. Sebastian Wroth was turned against his will and longs to die. They meet and discover that Kaderin is his blood bride. Kaderin resists. The annual Hie is starting (the paranormal answer to the Amazing Race). She’s got a prize to win and isn’t interested. Okay, she’s a little interested. The pace is fast and enjoyable until the end when the sugary ending almost ruins it. If you didn’t like the first one, you aren’t going to like this one. If you liked the first one, you’ll like this one. Since Cole made it onto the USA Today Bestseller list for the first one, I am guessing this will be just as successful.

REVIEW: Passion by PF Kozak

Jane — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 22:00:25 +0000

Dear Ms. Kozak:

This book. Well, let’s just say that words are not sufficient to describe my feelings about this book. So I resorted to pictures. You have my permission to use this is an ad for your book, if you like. Just wondered if your book was James Frey inspired or girl with a one track mind inspired?

edited to add summary:

Passion Flower is a writer who decides she wants to learn to ride a horse. Ivan Kozak is a professor spending his summer helping out a friend at his stables. Ivan and PF engage in various sexual escapades wherein PF is mostly dominated and humiliated but after their first sexual encounter comes to realize that she looooves Ivan. When I realized that the hero’s name and the heroine’s name matched the author and her dedication, I wanted to poke my eyes out with the pencil. That’s the story.

Best regards,

Jane