Albatross (2012)

Must See Movie...

best movie i've ever seen.

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Summary- Seventeen year old girl, wears a conservative, repressed wardrobe which is indicative of her personality and demeanor.Said teen, meets a 'rebel without a clue type,' provocatively dressing, teen girl-friend, who is related to Arthur Conan Doyle and wants to be a writer. Said teen girl, much to the chagrin of her mother, and pleasure of her father, adopts a similar slutty wardrobe. Father proceeds to have an affair with slutty friend. Said teen proceeds to have terrible falling out with slutty friend over heretofore mentioned affair. The "earth shattering ending" involves said teen wearing an "I Put Out" tee-shirt, with a small, female, firefighter beneath that banner. Sad.I was really disappointed in this film- It had moments and brief sparks, but overall it's an abysmal failure.

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.

This film depicts a dysfunctional family owning a Bed and Breakfast house in a coastal British town. The father wrote a wildly successful novel many years ago, and the family lives off his early success. He has had writer's block for quite some time since. His wife resents him and maybe even hates him. Is it because he is still the star and she gave up her acting career to be his wife? What a b-word! She ought to be thankful for whatever good has come their way.So what if he hasn't done much since his novel? He is still the husband and the dad, and his money afforded a comfortable lifestyle. If there is something about him that his wife and daughter resent, let's here what it is, besides his writer's block. I need a clear explanation.We do see a glimpse of it late in the film, when he verbalizes the fact that he doesn't really respect his daughter's blandness, so maybe I am overlooking that.Yes, like other reviewers have stated, that Jessica Brown has talent, and will undoubtedly have some future acting success, or popularity. She pulled off a character with at least two dimensions, and did it well.Even if his wife wasn't such a "shrew," as they called her during the film, it is hard for a man to resist the attention of a young, adoring woman, as they aptly depict here. A little attention, gives him the self-esteem needed to rouse him out of his funk. I can relate.This is definitely not a comedy. It is a coming-of-age film first and a mid-life crisis film secondly. Good scenery, poignant interaction between grandparents and granddaughter, and just the right amount of comedy and sex.

Now and again a quiet little British movie pops up to remind us just how well the Brits know how to mix comedy and compassion. Such is the case with ALBATROSS, a gentle, sensitive tale written by Tazmin Rafn and directed by Niall MacCormick about a social misfit who imposes herself on a family in desperate need of a wakeup call. The film is blessed with a very fine cast (especially the blossoming of young actress Jessica Brown Findlay - remembered for her ongoing impressive role as Lady Sybil in 'Downton Abbey') and for the breathtaking scenery of the Isle of Man. There is comedy here to be sure but here are other lessons about family and friendship and relationships that are importantly placed in perspective.Cliff House is the Bed and Breakfast run by a dysfunctional family: the bitter mother Joa (Julia Ormond), her writer's block housebound husband Jonathan (Sebastian Koch) who wrote a book Cliff House 10 years ago and nothing since, bookish teenager Beth (Felicity Jones) and young Posy (Katie Overd). Into their lives pops Emelia, a rebellious, seductive and intelligent teenager whose sole claim to fame is her apparent ancestor Arthur Conan Doyle (she dreams of becoming a writer to carry on her legacy). Emelia takes a job as a cleaner at the B&B, befriends Beth - drawing her out of her mousy self perception in to the throes of early adulthood, begins an affair with Jonathan and gets scowled at by Joa. Emelia's only living family (her mother committed suicide recently) are her grandparents - Granny (Hazel Douglas) suffers from Alzheimer's Disease and Grandpa (the always superb actor Peter Vaughan - for whom she holds deep affection and caring.Beth is due to travel to Oxford for interview and despite the misgivings of Joa and the now lovesick Jonathan, Emelia accompanies Beth to the interview, there discovering the wilds of being raw and naughty. Upon return matters change: Granny dies, Emelia grieves, the affair between Emelia and Jonathan becomes open, and everything must change. The albatross of the title refers to the baggage each character carries, not just Emelia's name legacy The depth of friendships are tested - and survive.Without exception the cast is first rate - Ormond and Koch are already established stars and Jessica Brown Findlay and Felicity Jones prove they are on their way to become very important actresses. This is a beautiful little film to watch and to think about. It is a first class little Indie. Grady Harp