mark.waltz
To many, this tale of literary legends spending time together for a decadent summer of lustful pleasure which results in a drug induced nightmare will seem a pretentious bore. That is until they see Ken Russell's very bizarre rendition of the same story, "Gothic". Yes, these five characters seem a bit odd, and considering the fact that one of them wrote Frankenstein and was a woman, they really are. The sexual games they play with each other are at first amusing and eventually cruel, particularly the bi-sexual Philip Anglim (Alex Winter ) who cruelly taunts his male lover while seducing the horny love starved Laura Dern.While the lovely Alice Krige is perfectly acceptable as the intelligent Mary Shelley, Eric Stoltz seems miscast as Lord Byron Shelley. His Michael Jackson like voice makes the character's romantic appeal very doubtful. The dour Anglim, hosting the summer party, is certainly not an ideal host, his anti-women theories eye-raising and his appeal to either sex iffy save the self-loathing twosome he manages to bed here. The horror sequences are certainly worth a few good nightmares. Physical production is certainly lovely, but truly ugly characters dominate the tale.
tom-2608
I have no idea what the other reviewer is talking about- this was a wonderful movie, and created a sense of the era that feels like time travel. The characters are truly young, Mary is a strong match for Byron, Claire is juvenile and a tad annoying, Polidori is a convincing beaten-down sycophant... all are beautiful, curious, and decadent... not the frightening wrecks they are in Gothic.Gothic works as an independent piece of shock film, and I loved it for different reasons, but this works like a Merchant and Ivory film, and was from my readings the best capture of what the summer must have felt like. Romantic, yes, but completely rekindles my interest in the lives of Shelley and Byron every time I think about the film. One of my all-time favorites.
suessis
While "Gothic" (Ken Russell's surprisingly good psychotic drug trip fantasy) has attracted more of a following, this film simply took a different route to chronicle the intensely powerful relationships that existed among this group of artists and writers. Phillip Anglim's performance dominates every other. He grips the part of Byron with an iron hand and draws the viewer into this story. While, Alice Kreige and Eric Stolz also offer good performances they sometimes become lost in Anglim's. Alex Winter's and Laura Dern's sometimes seem to disappear into the scenery. While this film is not exactly a masterpiece, it is worthy of more attention than it has had. It makes the lives of these people more accessible than "Gothic" did. It breathes life into people that Americans tend to view simply as moth eaten old poets with scandalous and mythical reputations who's work they are forced to read in school.
xirtam
I read the back of the box and it talked about Mary Shelley and Percy Shelley and Lord Byron. I thought, "wonderful! This will be great!" I was so wrong. The story was all screwed up. In fact I still don't get it. It just seems to me that all the characters did was drink, smoke (opium?) and have sex. Not that those aren't good movie qualities, but please! Where was the story? I made myself finish the movie, and yes, it did pick up towards the end, but by then the movie was almost over. Rent it if you really want to. Just don't trust the back of the box.
AD
