When William Adamson an entomologist (Mark Rylance) marries Eugenia Alabaster (Patsy Kensit) the daughter of an aristocratic family, he realises that he will always be considered an outsider. He spends much of his time with his insect collection, drawing, and describing specimens and writing books about his butterflies and ants etc. However, Eugenia both beautiful and wealthy is one specimen he prizes above all others. Mark Rylance plays the quietly spoken entomologist with sincerity and always in character. Patsy Kensit is suitably sullen and mysterious with her changing moods and strange ways. But it is Douglas Henshall who plays her obnoxious lascivious brother who livens up every scene in which he appears. The Victorian conversations and mannerisms while well done do tend to irritate after awhile and it is quite pleasing when Eugenia's mother with her high-pitched voice quietly passes away. It seems to me that the interiors of the castle are quite incompatible with the magnificence of the exterior walls, but that is really of little consequence. As we watch the story unfold, we become aware that it is not only William's presence that is so upsetting, but something deeper, more mysterious, some untold secret brooding over the whole family. It is not too difficult to guess what that secret is. One of the early impressions of the film is the predominance of the unusually bold bright colours in the ladies' costumes - bright blue, bright red and bold stripes. Surely they are wrong for this era. I can only guess that the writer (or was it the art director?) got the idea that the women in their Victorian dresses could reflect the colours of the insects - butterflies, ants and bumble bees. Despite its selection for the Cannes Film Festival 1995, it is not a great film, but quite entertaining to watch despite its slow beginning, and for those who like a happy ending, everyone gets their just deserts. The film underlines the fact we all already know that the aristocracy is not always kind to outsiders.
Review of Angels and Insects
