Loving Annabelle

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Customer reviews

review by: Liv, London date: 2008-06-28 rating:
Loving it
Beautifully shot, generally well-written film about a teacher-student relationship. Erin Kelly is commanding as strong, independent Annabelle in her first major movie project. A well-acted lesbian film that manages to pull off being sexy and emotional at the same time. The ending lets the film down a little but Katherine Brooks' (director) heart was in the right place and tagged on an alternative ending to the DVD.
5*

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review by: willy wonky date: 2008-06-09 rating:
Could have been worse
There are a few things which prevent this actually being a good film. First is the script - leaden and grey. The second is the production values. It reminds you of one of those low budget, late 80's films BBC would put on at half past midnight to fill an hour and a bit and you think you're being a bit daring watching a story about a forbidden lesbian love affair but end up falling asleep before the end. In fact the priest is played by one of the very actors who would populate these films - that familiar face it is difficult to put a name to and you don't feel motivated to find out. Amazingly, for a film about rebellious teenagers in a Catholic school emabarking on a forbidden love affair, it lacks any sexual tension whatsoever. It fairly crackles with apathy. The saving grace is it is short - and it could have been worse but not an awful lot.

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review by: date: 2008-04-14 rating:
Truly, utterly, rubbish
I often like films which are bad, or so-bad-it's-good.

This was just BAD. Luckily I borrowed it from a library so had not shelled out too much cash on it.
The script was awful, everything which happened was completely beyond the bounds of credibility.

We watched all the way through, hoping that maybe it would get better.

It did not.

Really, don't bother, unless you want something which feels like it was written by a 15-year-old with nobody to tell them "no, that is just silly".

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review by: date: 2008-04-12 rating:
Tedious Claptrap
I know there's a dearth of lesbian-focussed films but honestly, must we put up with this rubbish! After reading positive reviews I couldn't quite square them up with the film I watched, which was very poor. The acting was awful, the script dire, the predictability laughable (of course the ex girlfriend died and not only died but probably killed herself because she couldn't cope with the burden of liking girls- yawn!), the premise extremely dubious: after losing her lover the teacher starts dating blokes?? Really, don't waste your time with this. We deserve better than the crumbs on offer here.


review by: date: 2008-04-08 rating:
"Mad, Bad and Dangerous to " - No.........
Must confess when I first saw this film I hated it, hated it! But then I found myself thinking about it, so I watched it again, and again. First thing to mention is that, for an indie movie, shot on a shoe-string budget, the production values are very high, by which I mean that this movie has a lush sort of a look and feel about it; the cinematography is gorgeous - I can't explain it any better.
The story is one fraught with difficulties: Simone Bradley, English Literature teacher at an all-girls boarding convent/school finds herself falling for the girlish charms of Annabelle Tillman, wild-child daughter of a prominent US senator. Annabelle, for her part, makes it very clear to Ms Bradley, that she is attracted to her - and then some. OK, we're informed (by various means) that Annabelle is a double handful of trouble, and that the boarding school is the last chance saloon for her. If she doesn't mend her wild ways there, next stop is a Military Academy. Oddly though, the only way this 'wildness' manifests itself is that Annabelle smokes a lot, has had her nose pierced and wears Doc Marten boots with everything - other than that, she actually comes across as a bit of a sweetheart: witness her gentle comforting of Collins, the screwed-up self-harmer. Oh yes, well, Annabelle is a lesbian of course, that's pretty wild I suppose. For goodness' sake, she even comes off worse in a catfight with one of the girls in her dorm. How mad and bad is that??
A word here about the screen presence of Erin Kelly in her debut role as Annabelle - extraordinary is the word, astonishing is another. Simone Bradley is played by Diane Gaidry, an actress with a stillness about her that I found very pleasing. The scenes between Annabelle and Simone vary, from highly-charged/erotic to just plain silly. And yes, there are many meaningful, lingering looks between the two, but they really are meaningful; they move the story along very nicely. The ending is awful, stereotypical blah - can't think what writer/director and out lesbian Katharine Brooks was thinking. Or perhaps that's why the extras include an altogether more satisfying alternative ending. So, go on, give Annabelle a whirl in your dvd player. Oh, and the music's great too.

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