St. John's

This is a movie that would not sit with just anybody. It's like an avocado. It's an acquired taste!

The other reviewer here clearly didn't understand the premise of the film. Angel is a beautiful, often funny and always over the top homage of 1940s/50s melodramas. Films such as Gone With the Wind, Imitation of Life and even Mira Nair's underrated Vanity Fair came to mind while viewing. Romola Garai shines as the superficial heroine who lives in a fantasy world of her own creation. Luxury, success and excess are all that matter to her and she is determined to achieve these goals. On paper, Angel appears to be a rather unlikable character, but it is a testament to Garai's talent that the viewer simply cannot take his or her eyes off of her. The costumes and sets are remarkable, and the cinematography simply stunning. Yes, a few obvious false backgrounds appear at times during the film, but these are obviously meant to look ridiculous and fake, which is perfectly fitting considering Angel is a parody/homage to melodramas. Highly recommended, especially to fans of Douglas Sirk's films.

Very poor script, poor acting particularly on the part of Romola Garai. Very little depth or credibility of characters. Mediocre filming (false backgrounds badly dissimilated for certain scenes of car, boat or carriage movements) Story which is quite unbelievable, poorly put together. Mediocre at best.

There were some very nice sets but this movie was lacking in all other aspects. The writing, acting and especially directing were mediocre at best. Romola Garai did not shine as she did in Atonement but her acting, portraying an rather dispicable character, was adequate in spite of bad direction. Give this one a skip.

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