Dench gives her scenes plenty of internal energy, bringing Joan to vividly textured life in a way that's never offered to Cookson. Instead, the younger actress is only asked to play Joan's more obvious sides, incongruously dithery and romantically compromised even if her razor-sharp intelligence is never in doubt. At least she has some chemistry with Hughes, because the scenes with Moore never catch fire. But then none of the other actors in the film's period scenes can overcome the flood of picturesque cliches.

It's also a bit problem that, as the film cuts back and forth between past and present, the overall narrative loses most of its momentum. There are some nicely intriguing scenes here and there, some enjoyably shifty characters and several excellent twists in the tale. But the rising swamp of sentimentality in the final act and screenwriter Shapero's insistence on shouting the central message more than once leaves the audience groaning. Basically this fascinating series of events gets completely lost in the clumsy storytelling.

themes, violence, sexuality

27.Mar.19

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