I Capture the Castle (2003)

When her family moves into a glamorous castle in the English countryside, Cassandra (Romola Garai) imagines great things will happen. But the decaying castle loses its appeal as her novelist father (Bill Nighy, Love Actually) develops writer's block and her mother dies of cancer. From this sad beginning, I Capture the Castle turns into an utterly engaging coming-of-age story as 17-year-old Cassandra and her older sister Rose (Rose Byrne) struggle to win the attentions of their new American landlord (Henry Thomas, E.T. The Extraterrestrial)--but when everything goes the way Cassandra hopes, her hopes fall apart. Garai's wonderful performance carries the audience through bittersweet discoveries about life and adulthood with hope and yearning. The entire cast---also featuring Tara Fitzgerald (Brassed Off) and Marc Blucas--is superb. I Capture the Castle is an absolutely lovely movie, delightful and surprisingly wise. --Bret Fetzer Amazon.com

not too bad

As a movie alone this was pretty decent. However it pales in comparison to the book. There are a few awkward moments but overall it was fun to watch and I enjoyed it. but please read the book first! May 13, 2008

I Capture the Castle

I love Romola Garai. Everything movie she is in is good. She seems to pick perfect scripts with great story lines. This movie really "captures" you and lets you get involved with each person in the film. Great acting! March 31, 2008

I suffer the boredom

I Capture the Castle (Tim Fywell, 2003)

I Capture the Castle was adapted from what may be the most awkwardly-titled young adult novel of all time, and TV director Tim Fywell's lack of insistence that the godawful title be changed should tip you off that awkwardness comprises a good deal of what you're in for with this exceptionally odd adaptation. First off, why shut out most of your built-in audience by making an R-rated adaptation of a young adult book? Why make it worse with some of the strangest casting decisions in modern filmdom? Why not at least try to whip it into some sort of shape that readers of the book might recognize? Well, to be fair, it's quite possible they did that; that may, in fact, be the source of all the awkwardness. Let the viewer decide.

Cassandra Mortmain (Atonement bombshell Romola Garai) and her odd family-- older sister Rose (28 Weeks Later's Rose Byrne), father James (Pirates of the Caribbean's Bill Nighy), and stepmother Topaz (Brassed Off's Tara Fitzgerald)-- move to a crumbling castle in the country so James, a previously successful writer with a decade-long case of writer's block, can finally start working again. The problem is, it doesn't work, and a couple of years down the road, the family are penniless. Enter the Cotton family, who own the land on which the castle stands. The two brothers, Neil (They's Marc Blukas) and Simon (Deadbirds' Henry Thomas), capture Rose's eye, and she sets her heart on marrying one of them to pull her family out of poverty. Thus begins a melodrama of manners.

And melodrama it is; nary a chance to overnarrate, overact, overdecorate, or overdirect is passed up. Even at less than two hours and being based on a novel, the film is brutally slow-paced. One wonders what swathes of prose got cut to make this screenplay fit to time, and whether all the book's actual action, plot furtherance, and character development was contained in it. (That's actually not a bad guess, as much of what goes wrong with novel adaptations usually has to do with one or more of those three aspects getting cut; it's a rare thing all three fall by the wayside, however.) The sole bright light in all this is Romola Garai's performance. For all I know, she's overacting in every scene, but relative to what's around her, it at least seems understated and heartfelt. Other than that, though, and Tara Fitzgerald's character's propensity to go dancing naked in the dark, I couldn't find a single reason to keep watching this film, save to spare those of you who've never seen it before the same boredom I suffered. *
January 3, 2008

I didn't think I'd it enjoy it as much as I did

I thought this would be a rather childish movie and something just to while away the time but it turned out to be quite delightful. The family is so very quirky, especially Topaz who is the heart of soul of bohemian, artistic fervor and her little ritual in the rain was funny but when she just had to do it in front of Cassandra it was really funny. Marc Blucas is beautiful but I wasn't impressed with his acting in this...perhaps it was his voice that didn't seem to fit. Romola was an ideal narrator and Henry Thomas perfect for his role. It's a chick flick though guys....if you have some tolerance for chick flicks, you'll enjoy this but otherwise don't bother. I liked the ending too, it wasn't what I was expecting and that's always nice. So, go see for yourselves....why ARE they all wearing green? December 11, 2007

"It all feels fractured": Yes it does in I CAPTURE THE CASTLE

I first saw this film in the arthouses in 2000 and felt that something was definitely not all together about this story.I remembered it and revisited it after purchasing it on DVD this morning.I still feel the same way.As the main character,Cassandra (a wonderful Romola Garai (AMAZING GRACE and VANITY FAIR) writes in her journal,"It all feels fractured".It does.

As much as I want to like this film more, the screenplay by Heidi Thomas, whose main claim to fame is television writing,just simply seems so disconnected and lacking in a single purpose and focus.If the film is supposedly Cassandra's story,there then is much missing from the Dodie Smith book to make the story and the characters come alive on screen.

The acting from Romola Garai,Rose Byrne as her sister Rose,Bill Nighy as their writer-blocked father, and Tara Fitzgerald,especially, as Topaz, the odd stepmother, are all uniformly excellent.Henry Thomas and Marc Blucas appear quite awkward in their roles as the American brothers who have come to England as inheritors.Thomas seems particularly miscast and unsuited for this role.

Dario Marianelli,Oscar nominated for his later soundtrack PRIDE AND PREJUDICE does another admirable job at composing a lovely and lyrical score.

But, this film simply falls flat, and much is left to your imagination.

DVD extras contain an interview with Romola Garai which reveals no new insight into the film for me.The deleted scenes are miniscule and could have very easily remained.I thought the alternate ending was a better choice that was not chosen.See what I mean?

Not a recommended purchase for the price on DVD.VHS is cheaper for this film. October 22, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...