Enid

This film is about the life of the famous and prolific author Enid Blyton, who wrote over 750 children books.

"Enid" is very powerful in portraying the character of Enid Blyton. Helena Bonham Carter portrays Enid Blyton to be a detached, phlegmatic, rude and deceitful hypocrite. This portrayal is very powerful, and I do hate Enid so much for her unloving ways towards her family. It is so effective, I feel so sorry for the husband and her children. The production is also of great quality, with high standards of costumes, sets and cinematography.

I used to pride myself for having read all the Famous Five books. If this portrayal of Enid Blyton's life is accurate, that I think I cannot put my hands on an Enid Blyton book again.

Well, that's a childhood illusion shattered.

A look at the life and times of Famous Five novelist, Edin Blyton.

The BBC made some wonderful dramas at the time, exploring Gracie Fields, Hattie Jacques, and a few others, this is no different, it's a quality production.

Beautifully made and acted, I don't know much about her, so I'm not too sure about the accuracy of it, but a little research reinforces a lot of what was seen here.

Blessed with the talent to write children's books, but seemingly not the talent to be a decent wife or mother, she's portrayed as something of a monster for the most part.

The acting is first class, McFadyen and Lawson are great, Helena Bonham Carter puts in a killer performance. Outnumbered fans may recommend a familiar face.

An absorbing watch, 8/10.

When I was a child, I absolutely adored Enid Blyton's books; like Beatrix Potter's simple but charming, whimsical and beautifully illustrated stories, her books were full of characters I could relate to(ie. Silky from the Magic Faraway Tree stories), magical or exciting adventures and moments where I laughed and cried. At 17, I still have the utmost respect for her work, and while it was flawed, I liked this biographical drama.

One definite plus was the way it was filmed, it was shot in a very sumptuous visual style that was most suitable. The costumes were ravishing, the scenery was breathtaking and the makeup was immaculate. The music score had parts that were a) haunting, b) poignant and c) hypnotic, the same effect that a minimalist score would have. I also liked the embedded references to her books, some as Enid sat at her typewriter, the script was well above average and the ending was somewhat moving.

The acting is very well done. Both Matthew Macfadyen and Dennis Lawson turned in great work as Hugh and Kenneth, and to some extent I felt sorry for both their characters; Hugh because of the way Enid treated him and Kenneth because he was seemingly oblivious to what Enid was really like. Helena Bonham Carter looked beautiful and gave a wonderful performance. If I were to be honest though I prefer her more passionate and headstrong characters in A Room with a View and Howards End.

It is here though where the flaws of this drama come. I think it was more to do with how she was written than how she was acted, but somehow I wasn't sure whether Enid was really that one-dimensional, here she is quite hypocritical and insensitive, then again it may be just me. Another problem if not so significant was that I felt some of the earlier scenes, particularly the scenes where Enid is a child, were a tad rushed.

Overall, I generally liked this biographical drama, not perfect in my opinion but worth watching. 8/10 Bethany Cox

I enjoyed this film and thought all the performances were excellent. As I watched it, however, I couldn't help but think that no real person is as unremittingly awful as the Enid portrayed here. The film also implied that Enid's life was one of complete lack of fulfilment and success. Erm, this was one of the most loved and successful writers ever?

I could imagine a totally different film where Enid's driven approach to writing and her 'neglect' of personal relationships would have been put down to her artistic genius. As it was, despite her huge success, the Enid here was basically portrayed as a failure and a bad person because she wasn't a chocolate-box mother, she had one affair and had one unhappy marriage. The film seems to be saying that despite her success she ultimately was a failure because she didn't pass the test as a wife and mother.

For this reason, I actually thought the film was a bit sexist, although perhaps reflecting sexist attitudes of the time. A good watch in itself, but didn't make me feel I'd got to know Enid Blyton.

This film promulgates the stories spread about that Enid Blyton was a horrible person and a cold mother. This is not factual. If you read Barbara Stoney's very accurate biography - "Enid Blyton, The Biography" with a foreword written by Miss Blyton's own daughter Gillian - you will see that she adored her children and loved both her first and second husbands. She contributed enormous amounts of teaching aids to the teachers and children of the twentieth century, and should be remembered with love and admiration. Do not take this cinematic telling of her life as factual. It isn't. In her daughter's own words - "I was very close to my mother, and talked with her freely from early childhood." which disputes the notion of her having been a cold mother. I have read her biography, and whilst this film captures the atmosphere of the time, it does not capture the true events.