Effie Gray (film)
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''Effie Gray'' is a 2014 British
biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...
written by
Emma Thompson Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress. Regarded as one of the best actresses of her generation, she has received numerous accolades throughout her four-decade-long career, including two Academy Awards, two British A ...
and directed by
Richard Laxton Richard Laxton (born 5 July 1967 in London) is a British film director Career Richard Laxton started his career with the short film '' I Bet It Will Rain'' in 1992. Initially he mainly worked for TV production, and was nominated for British ...
, starring
Dakota Fanning Hannah Dakota Fanning (born February 23, 1994) is an American actress. She rose to prominence at the age of seven for her performance as Lucy Dawson in the drama film ''I Am Sam'' (2001), for which she received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomina ...
,
Emma Thompson Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress. Regarded as one of the best actresses of her generation, she has received numerous accolades throughout her four-decade-long career, including two Academy Awards, two British A ...
,
Julie Walters Dame Julia Mary Walters (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a ...
,
David Suchet Sir David Courtney Suchet''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007'' ( ; born 2 May 1946) is an English actor known for his work on British stage and television. He portrayed Edward Teller in the television serial '' Oppenh ...
,
Derek Jacobi Sir Derek George Jacobi (; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. He has appeared in various stage productions of William Shakespeare such as ''Hamlet'', ''Much Ado About Nothing'', ''Macbeth'', ''Twelfth Night'', ''The Tempest'', ''King ...
,
James Fox William Fox (born 19 May 1939), known professionally as James Fox, is an English actor. He appeared in several notable films of the 1960s and early 1970s, including '' King Rat'', ''The Servant'', ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'' and ''Performanc ...
,
Robbie Coltrane Anthony Robert McMillan (30 March 195014 October 2022), known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, was a Scottish actor and comedian. He gained worldwide recognition in the 2000s for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. He ...
(in his final film role),
Claudia Cardinale Claude Joséphine Rose "Claudia" Cardinale (; born 15 April 1938) is an Italian actress. She has starred in some of the most iconic European films of the 1960s and 1970s, acting in Italian, French, and English. Born and raised in La Goulette, a ...
,
Greg Wise Matthew Gregory Wise, born 1966, is an English actor and producer. He has appeared in several British television programmes and feature films. He played the role of John Willoughby in ''Sense and Sensibility'', which also starred Emma Thompson, ...
, and
Tom Sturridge Thomas Sidney Jerome Sturridge is an English actor. His early films include ''Being Julia'' (2004), ''Like Minds'' (2006), and ''The Boat That Rocked'' (2009). He was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performances in ...
. It is based on the true story of
John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and politi ...
's marriage to Euphemia Gray and the subsequent annulment of their marriage. ''Effie Gray'' was released worldwide by
Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
in the United Kingdom on 10 October 2014 and in America on 3 April 2015.


Plot

In a pre-credit sequence Euphemia "Effie" Gray is seen walking through a garden speaking to her younger sister,
Sophie Sophie is a version of the female given name Sophia, meaning "wise". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Sophie of Thuringia, Duchess o ...
, about a fairy story in which a girl married a man with wicked parents. The marriage of Euphemia "Effie" to the prosperous art critic and philosopher
John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and politi ...
in
Perth, Scotland Perth (Scottish English, locally: ; gd, Peairt ) is a city in central Scotland, on the banks of the River Tay. It is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire. It had a population o ...
is seen. The couple travel to London to stay with his parents. Effie soon begins to feel isolated, especially as she is repeatedly belittled by John's hardhearted mother. Her distress is compounded by the fact that her husband shows no interest in consummating the marriage and refuses to discuss the subject. At the
Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...
, John and Effie attend a dinner at which there is heated debate about the new
Pre-Raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, James ...
movement in art, which John supports. John convinces Sir Charles Eastlake, the president of the academy, to allow the young artists to exhibit their pictures. Effie attracts the attention of Sir Charles' wife,
Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
. When the Eastlakes visit the Ruskins, Elizabeth sees how distressed Effie is in the repressive atmosphere of the Ruskin family. Feeling pressured due to the encounter with the Eastlakes, John calls in a doctor to examine Effie. Effie hopes that matters will improve when they travel to
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
, where John will be researching his new book '' The Stones of Venice'' but when they get there, John busies himself studying the many historic monuments of the city, leaving Effie in the company of Raffaele, a young Italian. Effie enjoys the city life, but is distressed when he tries to force himself on her. Her husband is oblivious to the situation. Effie dreads returning to the Ruskin family. Back at their house she suffers from a string of nervous ailments. Her doctor expresses disgust at John's clear lack of care or concern toward Effie and is horrified to learn that John has been drugging Effie with laudanum, albeit unintentionally as his mother gave him the tonics. He chastises a guilty looking John for his ignorance. He advises fresh air and more attention from her husband. John says they intend to travel to Scotland where
John Everett Millais Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet, ( , ; 8 June 1829 – 13 August 1896) was an English painter and illustrator who was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was a child prodigy who, aged eleven, became the youngest ...
, one of the Pre-Raphaelites, will paint his portrait. In Scotland, Millais befriends Effie, and becomes increasingly disturbed by Ruskin's dismissive attitude to his wife. He is deeply embarrassed when John leaves the two of them alone together for several nights when he visits
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
. Effie and Millais fall in love. He convinces her to take someone she trusts with her and to explore the options for divorce. Effie sends for Sophie, claiming that her sister wants to see the capital. Together they visit Elizabeth Eastlake. Effie tells her that she is still a virgin and that John has told her he was disgusted by her body on their wedding night. Elizabeth advises her to seek legal advice as John clearly has no desire to fulfill any of his obligations in the marriage, and Effie doesn't deserve the type of treatment she is receiving. Effie is examined by a doctor, who confirms her virginity. Her sympathetic lawyer tells her the marriage can be annulled. She leaves for Scotland, supposedly to accompany her sister, but really to leave John forever. Before she leaves London, she visits Millais, but communicates with him only via her sister. He says he will wait for her. Ruskin's family is horrified when Effie's lawyer calls round with a notification of annulment proceedings on the grounds of John's impotence.


Cast


Lawsuits

Release of the film, originally titled ''Effie'', was delayed by a series of court actions. Eve Pomerance, author of two scripts on the same subject as Thompson's screenplay, brought the first case. One of the scripts had been produced as a stage play. The judge ruled in December 2012 that Thompson's script was not in breach of copyright and could be released. Another copyright dispute arose, with playwright Gregory Murphy, author of the play '' The Countess'' which had been positively received, and ran Off-Broadway for 634 performances during the 1999/00 season. The matter was decided in Emma Thompson's favour in March 2013. The judge’s ruling was based on a second, revised screenplay that the court allowed Emma Thompson to submit in the middle of the case, which Murphy called "unprecedented." Murphy appealed against the ruling, but the Second Circuit rejected Murphy's appeal. The District Court then ordered Murphy to reimburse Effie Film, LLC $500,000 for its legal fees. Murphy filed an appeal, but in debt for hundreds of thousands of dollars as the result of the initial lawsuit instigated by Effie Film, petitioned the Court for ''pro bono'' counsel. Lawyers from the law firm of Winston & Strawn representing Effie Film successfully blocked Murphy’s petition for ''pro bono'' counsel, and filed a motion that Murphy be required to put up a bond of $125,000 before his case could be heard on appeal. In the year-long court battle that ensued, Murphy, representing himself, fought both the $500,000 fee award and the $125,000 bond motion. The case was eventually moved to the United States Court of Appeals. On 16 October 2015 the three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals ruled unanimously in Murphy’s favour, dismissing Winston & Strawn’s motion for a bond requirement and ruling that the District Court had "abused its discretion" in awarding Effie Film its $500,000 in legal fees, adding that the Court of Appeals had never characterized Murphy’s original claims of infringement as "frivolous" or "objectively unreasonable" as Winston & Strawn contended. The Court of Appeals also ordered Effie Film, LLC to pay Murphy $603.80 for his court costs. The release date was put back to October 2013, but the film was withdrawn from the
Mill Valley Film Festival The Mill Valley Film Festival is an annual American film festival founded in 1977. History In October 1977, Mark Fishkin, Rita Cahill and Lois Cole organized a three-day film festival. It featured three film tributes, Francis Ford Coppola's ''T ...
in California at which it was to be premiered under the title ''Effie Gray''. In December 2013, Thompson said the film’s time had "probably passed". The film was finally released in October 2014. Thompson did not attend its London premiere, nor did she promote the film.


Reception

''Effie Gray'' has received mixed reviews from critics. On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film has a rating of 42%, based on 79 reviews, with an average rating of 5.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "''Effie Gray'' benefits from its strong cast, elevating a period drama that doesn't strike quite as many narrative sparks as it could." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a score of 54 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Mark Kermode Mark James Patrick Kermode (, ; ; born 2 July 1963) is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter and podcaster. He is the chief film critic for ''The Observer'', contributes to the magazine ''Sight & Sound'', prese ...
said that the film "intelligently dramatises the prison-like nature of Effie’s status while struggling to engage us in what is essentially a non-relationship...we have a handsome but rather inert portrait of a suffocating social milieu in which it is left to Thompson herself to inject vibrant relief as the independently minded Lady Eastlake." Tim Robey in ''The Telegraph'' said that "There are clever and sensitive touches right through, and a moving ending. But Fanning seems wholly uncomfortable, and not always intentionally. She's meant to be playing a trapped Pre-Raphaelite muse, frequently ill and/or sedated, but moons her way through the film seeming mostly dazed and confused." David Sexton, in contrast, praised Fanning's performance as "remarkably good", but objected to the caricatured portrait of Ruskin and what he called the "Everyday Feminism" of the portrayal of Effie as a victim. Stephen Dalton in ''The Hollywood Reporter'' was unflattering, calling the film "an exquisitely dreary slice of middlebrow armchair theater which adds little new to a much-filmed story. Despite a lurid plot involving sex scandal, family dysfunction and proto-feminist revolt, the end result is depressingly conventional and deadeningly tasteful...yet another surface-level rehash of Victorian costume-drama clichés." However, Fanning's "wounded, emotionally conflicted performance" was praised.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Effie Gray 2014 films 2014 biographical drama films 2010s historical drama films British biographical drama films British historical drama films Films set in Venice Films shot in Venice John Ruskin Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in popular culture Films with screenplays by Emma Thompson Films scored by Paul Cantelon 2014 drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s British films