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Beth (Felicity Jones), a bookish teenager, becomes friends with Emilia (Jessica Brown Findlay) and has an affair with the latter's father. And for sure, that relationship threatens to have devastating consequences.
The performances are compelling (although Jones is underused) but the thin narrative is less instructive of the strange way female friendships operate than of the way stories get recycled.
German star Koch (The Lives of Others) has a Burton-lite intensity, with Julia Ormond well cast as his wife and Beth's mother.
October 19, 2011
The Skinny
A serving of teenage angst with a side order of syrup which, like the films of John Hughes, treats both characters and audience with respect and affection.
There are dimensions to Emelia that are welcome, but often rudely condensed by director Niall McCormick, who burns through the picture in 85 minutes, never lingering long enough on domestic tension or behavioral awareness.
Yes, the title of Albatross is a metaphor. In fact, the eponymous bird shows up not as a figurative chokehold around the neck of simply one character, but at least three.
Newcomer Brown Findlay brings some laughs and energy to an otherwise predictable tale of family strife that is modestly compelling but ultimately forgettable.