We watched "Invisible Woman" last night, Ralph Fiennes' directorial debut. The story is about Charles Dickens and Ellen Tiernan, who were lovers and for whom Dickens separated from his wife. It's a fascinating story of what both risked, but of course the risk was far greater for Tiernan. It exposes the codes of the time, the sexism, the entrapment of propriety. Fiennes is perfect as Dickens. Felicity Jones is Ellen, and I thought her fine, though my husband felt her acting was weak. Kirsten Scott-Thomas is Ellen's mother, and the woman who plays Dickens' wife is superb. Fiennes manages to convey the emotions and constrictions of that era succinctly, and also the all consuming passion of a writer. The film made me want to read the book upon which it is based, and also a big biography of Dickens. The fear of poverty is shown as a motivator of Dickens' actions and also his desire to escape the domesticity which he loved and was strangled by. His many children, adored but ignored, and his 19th century lack of responsibility for their existence, are disturbing and familiar.
What one is left with is the plight of a woman who falls in love with an unavailable man, and how hers is the back that must bend to the crucible of passion, while he, ultimately, is free of constraint. It's the tragedy of a woman's lot, though in this case she survived and went on to have her own family and memories. And the books. Which in this film are like the treasures of Aladdin.
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