Historical subjects as seen in movies vary in perspective due to many factors, chief among which is time.  The passing of time changes opinions, positions, societal customs and fashions, and even basic facts can be reassessed.  Thus, an event, or personage, or, in this case, marriage, can be seen through different viewpoints as time has since passed.  The marriage in question is that of English critic John Ruskin and Effie Gray, 1848 – 1854.

Ruskin (Greg Wise) is an influential art critic who aspires to be even more important in the realm of criticism.  He takes young Effie Gray (Dakota Fanning) as his bride, yet is unable to consummate the marriage.  Nevertheless, he grants her his social status (which she enjoys), but essentially abandons her while he is writing.  Friends can do little to ease her loneliness; finally, a growing relationship with painter John Everett Millais (Tom Sturridge) emboldens Effie to bravely strike out on her own.

Richard Laxton’s film works from an original script by Emma Thompson, who appears as Lady Eastlake.  The film was to be released in 2012 but has spent the last three years in court, where Thompson won against two lawsuits claiming plagiarism.  It is now making its belated run in a few theaters.  Thompson’s perspective shifts the film into feminism territory, insinuating (correctly so) that Ruskin essentially imprisoned Effie simply because he could, and that his domineering mother (Julie Walters) took steps to control Effie through medication.  Effie suffers mightily at the hands of these people who should have embraced her, and her escape at the climax is seen as a life-saving measure.  This perspective gives the story a contemporary feel that may or may not be present in other versions, which I have not seen.

Unfortunately, Laxton’s film is also rather dull.  It is a very quiet film; I missed some of the dialogue when I saw it because it was so quiet.  Things happen of course, but remember, this is a Victorian society where subtlety is everything.  A missed dinner could be disastrous; a smile misinterpreted could lead to scandal.  The details are present, but the story is so one-sided now that it really doesn’t support the neglect that Effie suffers.  A little dynamism would have done the film a world of good; while it is filled with good intention, it lacks passion, style and verve.  ☆ ☆.  6 April 2015.