Effie Gray

The eponymous heroine was the only wife of John Ruskin (1819-1900), who was to art criticism and various writings on a variety of social issues as Charles Dickens was as novelist, i.e., of very high stature. Effie Gray (Dakota Fanning) was 20 years old at the time of their marriage and there's an early scene where she lets the remaning garment fall on the floor while standing in the middle of the room on her wedding night. He leaves the room, disgusted, and never gets over it. And so the story is of a neglected wife.

It seems unlikely that a young bride would exhibit that type behavior in an high-born household during Victorian times but history shows that something did actually happen on their wedding night, though exactly what is unknown. There is a clear impression that there is more going on with Ruskin's sexuality and attitudes toward women than a single incident on a wedding night (though there are no overtones of homosexuality).

Emma Thompson has a minor role but she wrote the screenplay, which may be a first with her. But I hesitate to put the blame on her for a film that I thought was at times dull. The teleplay seems lacking at the end and I don't know whether there were errors in judgement or whether it was just showing an admirable restraint. Those who like this better than me would probably see this as quietly rewarding (to coin a phrase). For me, perhaps too quiet.

Effie Gray (Dakota Fanning) is the eager teenage bride to prominent art academic John Ruskin (Greg Wise). On the other hand, he is cold to her affections. His unreasonably overprotective mother (Julie Walters) tells her to leave him alone to his work. He champions pre-Raphaelite paintings and John Everett Millais (Tom Sturridge) in particular. Sir Charles Eastlake is the president of the academy and his progressive wife (Emma Thompson) befriends Effie. Effie grows lonely in the stifling home and more attracted to Millais setting off a scandal in Victorian England.

The first half is dull like John Ruskin. There are snippets of goodness from Walters and Thompson. Fanning is captured by the costume drama. Sturridge starts to make himself known at the midpoint. The slow pacing really kills this. Society has imprisoned Effie and the narrative has imprisoned this movie. One way to empower Effie would be to make her more compelling and more capable in the artistic world. Is John Ruskin supposed to be closeted and can they make that part of the story? This movie needs something to energize it and spice it up.

I thought it was excellent. Beautifully filmed, great acting and a fascinating story.

Many reviews criticize Dakota's acting but I thought she portrayed the quiet desperation of a woman trapped in a terrible marriage.

Odd to me that every silly comic book based movie gets raves and a truly great movie like this gets panned.

I did like the story.

She was a little girl being courted by an old man who married her once she became of age but would rather pleasure himself than touch his wife who he married for the purpose of cultural stature it seems. She needs a way out which was quite difficult in the Victorian-era of England.

I love movies set in the Victorian age. The costumes the art direction. The set design did stand out in this pic. It reflected how cold and distant the family this little girl married into was.

Also like how it was set up to be very stage like in the movement of certain people in and out of the scene.

Dakota Fanning did a fine job. Give her an A for always choosing challenging roles vs the easy ones girls her age usually take. I don't see this role doing anything for her career but I could be wrong.

Impress that Emma Thompson wrote it.

But overall the movie was too slow and the plot could have been summed up in a smaller amount of time. It seemed that a lot of the movie was to set up the frustration the little girl had with not being able to perform any "wifely" duties and to make her husband and in-laws hated. I found them strange yes, but the film never quite explains the strangeness, which makes it fall short.

It's based on a real story and It's probably better to hear that than to watch the movie. That'll waste less time and get to the point faster.

As dull as ditchwater and just as affecting. Almost completely pointless, and with some bizarre casting - the man they have playing Millais looks more like Rossetti! Nothing about the Pre-Raphaelites, and Ruskin is portrayed as a stuck-up idiot, which makes it painful to watch. Effie Gray herself is portrayed as a woman with no agency of any kind, and there's none of the scandal she created shown. No entertainment value whatsoever. Avoid.