''I Capture the Castle'' is a 2003 British romantic comedy film directed by Tim Fywell. It is based on the 1948 novel of the same name by Dodie Smith, with the screenplay written by Heidi Thomas. The film was released in the UK on 9 May 2003.

Romola Garai Romola Sadie Garai (; born 6 August 1982) is a British actress and film director. She appeared in ''Amazing Grace'', ''Atonement'', and '' Glorious 39'', and in the BBC series '' Emma'', '' The Hour'' and ''The Crimson Petal and the White''. I ...

played the lead role of Cassandra Mortmain alongside

Bill Nighy William Francis Nighy (; born 12 December 1949) is an English actor. Nighy started his career with the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool and made his London debut with the Royal National Theatre starting with '' The Illuminatus!'' in 1977. There he ...

, Rose Byrne and Tara Fitzgerald.

Synopsis

The film follows 17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain, and her eccentric family, struggling to survive in genteel poverty in a decaying English castle. The characters include her father, a writer who hasn't written anything in the 12 years since the spectacular success of his first novel; her older sister Rose, who rails against their fate and hopes to marry for money; and their

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

stepmother, Topaz, an ex-model still apt to sun-bathe in the nude. The possibility of salvation seems to loom in the form of their wealthy American landlord Simon Cotton and his brother Neil. Although Simon initially spurns her, Rose is determined to make him fall in love with her and succeeds. A wedding is arranged and Cassandra appears to be left on the sidelines. Cassandra is confused not only by her feelings for the Cottons but also for Stephen Colley. Stephen is the incredibly attractive son of the Mortmains' former chef who acts as a handyman to the family and is deeply in love with Cassandra. But events spiral out of control, and before the summer ends many expectations will have been overturned.

Production

Parts of the film were shot in Laxey film studio on the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = " O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europ ...

. Manorbier Castle in

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a county in the south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The county is home to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The Park oc ...

, Wales, supplied exteriors for the castle, and

Eltham Palace Eltham Palace is a large house at Eltham ( ) in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The house consists of the medieval great hall of a former royal residence, to which an Art Deco extension was added in the 1930 ...

in London some interiors.

Main cast

Reception

On the basis of 81 reviews collected by the film review aggregator

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 Wan ...

, 80% of critics gave ''I Capture the Castle'' a positive review, with an average rating of 6.7/10.

References

External links

* * *{{Metacritic film 2003 films 2003 romantic comedy films BBC Film films British romantic comedy films 2003 directorial debut films Films about families Films about writers Films based on British novels Films directed by Tim Fywell Films produced by David Parfitt Films scored by Dario Marianelli Films set in the 1930s Films set in castles Films set in England Films shot in the Isle of Man Films shot in London Films shot in Pembrokeshire Films based on works by Dodie Smith Films about sisters 2000s English-language films 2000s British films