Albatross

A fabulous pastry pleases all your senses and leaves you with a bit of chocolate on your lip and wanting more. I gorged on this one. But there's more to be said for this movie. It takes a clever but easily clichéd story line and spins it out so freshly creative it makes your face hurt from smiling. And all the moguls with the money should line up to honor Jessica Brown-Findlay who took a cleverly written part and turned it into an award winning performance. But I must be honest and say that the TR-2 might have influenced me. When I was 16, I lusted for a bright red version on the showroom floor in upstate New York. How much better can you make a movie for a 71 year old incurable romantic who can still remember what lust is all about.

Jessica Findlay Brown, who is starting to make a name for herself by shining in Downton Abbey is a truly sensational young actress who people should certainly keep an eye on, give it a few years and she'll be everywhere I suspect. Albatross is a film which kind of reminded me of another British film of late, Tamara Drewe, the plot line of both ate very similar, but this film has a great drama and family aspect to it also, that's not to say it's not funny either because it is. The film starts off somewhat confusing, you don't know where it's headed but it's not long til you get the hang of the direction and you just enjoy the ride, the story is about a social misfit who imposes herself on a family in desperate need of a kick start, she befriends the teenage daughter, wonderfully played by the luminous Felicity Jones, starts a brief affair with the father and comes head to head with the high strung mother. The affair plot line is what reminds me of Tamara Drewe, this is the plot line I found the least interesting but hey the movie has so many great scenes it's hard not to enjoy.

The performances are pretty good all round, Brown and Jones are the standouts though, I did find the Julia Ormond character to be an absolute annoyance, and somehow I think the character would have been different if played by a nicer actress, I'm not saying she's not good but I'd rather see someone else in this role.

This really is Jessica Findlay-Brown's film all the way, she owns every scene she is in, she steals the show all the way through, the film is just give or take, it's not gonna change your life but you aren't going to hate it either, it will sure brighten up your day though. And as I said, keep your eye on Brown, I bet she's the next big thing. :)

I watched this film without any expectations, in the end, I got exactly what I wanted. Albatross might not be a masterpiece but it certainly has become one of my favorites. I wonder why Comedy isn't added in this film's genre 'cause I found most of the dialogues comical.

As everyone saying, there is no exaggeration about Jessica Brown Findlay's acting, she was adorable and the other characters including 12 year old and old guys acted very fine.

Humans make mistakes but realizing those and not repeating them is the important part. If you find someone feeling very low then you say any random thing just to cheer him up. Similarly, sometimes our parents lie to us too, not with the intention to hurt us but to inspire us and make us discover the hidden talents within. This is what I understood from the film.

So, I give this movie 10 out of 10 'cause I totally loved it.

In the evocative location of the Isle of Man there is Emelia Doyle, a teenager who lives with her grandparents (her mother committed suicide, her father disappeared). She tries to become a writer because she is convinced that she is a descendant of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but in the meantime she only scrapes together menial jobs; then there's a failed writer, Jonathan Fischer, author of a single successful novel on which he lives off a pension, without being able to write anything decent anymore; finally there's the writer's daughter, Bethany, a young girl with no experience due to parents unable to let her go, who aspires to continue her studies at the coveted Oxford University.

A charming comedy with three characters who don't have the courage to take a step forward in their lives: they help each other, almost without wanting to, to give themselves a push, to "rewrite", to become aware of themselves. The film is convincing thanks to a certain irony that amiably mocks the characters, to the delightful naive grace of Felicity Jones (Bethany), to the irreverent, cheeky, sensual but also tenderly defenceless humanity of Jessica Brown Findlay (Emelia), who in the end manages to get rid of her alibi for doing nothing with her life (the albatross around her neck of choleridgian memory) and starts writing seriously. A little-known, rather neglected comedy, but definitely worth a look.

The screenplay was completely believable and the performances were top notch across the entire cast. It's a small story of regular people living regular lives, so no bombast was necessary or desired. Once again, I am disgusted by the film critics assessment of this film. What do these supercilious, arrogant pseudo-writers want? I'm sick of these intellectuals passing judgment on quality works such as these.