Ralph Fiennes stars and directs The Invisible Woman. In 1857 a teenage actress Nelly Ternan (Felicity Jones) falls for the energetic, charismatic and famous writer Charles Dickens (Ralph Fiennes) who at the time was married with many children and middle aged.
Enchanted with her Dickens arranges her to be cast in a play by Wilkie Collins in Manchester, they then have a life long affair that lasted until his death but which Dickens tried to shield from his public but did not hide it from his wife.
There are several actors that have specialised in playing Dickens such as actor Simon Callow in stage and screen. Fiennes gives an intense and magnetic performance and is matched by Felicity Jones who is beguiling, vulnerable and bewitching as Nelly.
The film is told in flashbacks by an older Nelly married but still thinking about her time with Dickens which no one seems to know about.
Despite an interesting beginning, I found it rather empty as it went on. Fiennes has elected to tell the story with hints and suggestions. There are lots of empty spaces which leaves the viewer trying to figure out what is going on.
Enchanted with her Dickens arranges her to be cast in a play by Wilkie Collins in Manchester, they then have a life long affair that lasted until his death but which Dickens tried to shield from his public but did not hide it from his wife.
There are several actors that have specialised in playing Dickens such as actor Simon Callow in stage and screen. Fiennes gives an intense and magnetic performance and is matched by Felicity Jones who is beguiling, vulnerable and bewitching as Nelly.
The film is told in flashbacks by an older Nelly married but still thinking about her time with Dickens which no one seems to know about.
Despite an interesting beginning, I found it rather empty as it went on. Fiennes has elected to tell the story with hints and suggestions. There are lots of empty spaces which leaves the viewer trying to figure out what is going on.