It is time for me to change my opinion on Jane Campion. Having always known of her as a celebrated director (mainly due to this film and The Piano), I couldn’t see what everyone else saw. Sadly, I was basing my opinion on the one film I had seen from her, In The Cut. Although many can argue otherwise, In The Cut is a poor film. The Power Of The Dog, on the other hand, is quite superb. As is this film. And, yes, I can already hear many film fans rolling their eyes at me and saying “duh”.
Based on the autobiographies of Janet Frame, a talented writer from New Zealand who was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia at a young age, An Angel At My Table is a dramatic retelling and celebration of a quite extraordinary life. Frame is played by three different actresses showing her at different ages - Alexia Keogh, Karen Fergusson, and Kerry Fox - and one of the best things about the film is a sense of consistency throughout. All three actresses feel as if they are showing us moments in the life of the same person. That may sound easy, obvious even, but the narrative flows so well in between major life events that I didn’t always notice when the central performer had changed.
With such apparently rich source material to work from (and it is material I have now added to my reading list), writer Laura Jones allows viewers to watch someone unique go through a life that often comes perilously close to sniffing out their talent. Whether she is being blissfully ignorant of just how much danger she is in or whether she is shown to have learned enough about her own life to start righting some major wrongs, Frame is a fascinating character who wins people over without ever changing her slightly peculiar ways. Indeed, it’s the fact that she arguably cannot change a lot of what makes her what she is that adds to the fascination about her.
Campion directs with a delicate touch, taking great care to show pain and troubles defining a life without turning the whole thing into a bleak wallow in complete misery. Frame may often deserve better treatment from those around her, but her optimism and unique view on the world allows everything to be framed (no pun intended) in a different, more heartening, way than viewers might expect.
Although everyone is very good here, whether they are playing Frame or one of the many people she encounters on her road to becoming an acclaimed writer, the shining star is Fox, delivering the kind of performance that would stand out from anyone’s filmography like a grand monolith. Everyone gets to deliver some pitch-perfect work, with Campion and Jones maintaining a wonderful balance of tone throughout, but Fox benefits from having the most screentime, and arguably going through the biggest changes.
I know that I am once again way behind the curve on this, telling people something that they already know, but An Angel At My Table is a beautiful (or maybe ugly beautiful is the best descriptor, considering the visual style) testament to a talented woman who absolutely warrants the admiration shown to her.
9/10
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