SummaryA look at the mysterious relationship between Victorian art critic John Ruskin (Greg Wise) and his teenage bride Effie Gray (Dakota Fanning).
Directed By:Richard Laxton
Written By:Emma Thompson
Effie Gray
Metascore
Mixed or Average
54
User score
Mixed or Average
5.8
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Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
54
36% Positive
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
64% Mixed
18 Reviews
18 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Mar 28, 2015
88
It spins the narrative of one of the Victorian art world's most mysterious marriages into a study of life lived and life merely examined, a fecund fairy tale in reverse.
Apr 3, 2015
67
Wise, who is noticeably older than the 29-year-old Ruskin was at the time the events occurred in real life, gives a tense, implacable performance, and Fanning is touching. The movie, however, directed by Richard Laxton, could use a lot more oomph.
User score
Mixed or Average
5.8
23% Positive
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
62% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
15% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
Aug 8, 2016
6
A costume drama that was a real yawner. Hubby seems totally uninterested in new bride, why did he marry her? I don't have a clue, the movie didn't touch on that. Wifie is shocked meeting the in-laws, where hubby is the only son, and still the son, not her hubby. We get a lot of narrative but not insight. Since this is 2016, not the 1800's, can I ask, was he a child sex offender? He loved her when she was 12, but not when she grew up.
Apr 22, 2015
6
The movie was delayed a year to hit the screen due to the copyright issue. A biographical picture from Britain set in the late 1840. The movie revolves the story of Euphemia Gray shortly known as Effie Gray and her married life. She was from Scotland and only 19 when she married to the British art critic John Ruskin. But she was kept under certain limits of space by her laws. It makes her a lonely soul in the house, which surface a serious threat to their loveless marriage. Can it be held or not is the movie's final conclusion. Dakota Fanning, like I saw her yesterday in teen movies, but now she's in a grown up movie. Felt kind of hard to accept, and then after a while begin to like her performance. That does not mean it was a powerful act, somehow convincible to the viewers. That is mainly because of the story. Actually it's a simple story, if it was set in the today's world. For those periods, it was a big affair to deal publicly as well as family's prestige. The movie's settings and locations were good. As usual in a period drama the costumes are very good. It's always pleasure to learn the history through movies than the school textbooks. Other than that it was an average or just above. The thing is, it was a too slow and a little long movie, thus its not a commercial film. Many people aren't ready to pay watch it in the theatres, that is understood. So in my opinion, it should have been a television movie instead, with sliced into 3-4 episodes. Anyway, not for everyone, but for those who love slow presentations would have a good time. 6/10
Apr 1, 2015
63
Intrigue doesn’t begin until the last third of the movie, which is by far the best part. The Victorian melodrama in Effie Gray works better than the Victorian suffering.
Jan 9, 2015
60
Richard Laxton’s painterly film combines the gothic shadows of Hitchcock’s Rebecca with the gut-wrenching romance of A Royal Affair. The result is dark and offbeat, but as a murky anti-romance, Gray is undeniably effective.
Apr 2, 2015
50
This period piece, directed by Richard Laxton, is shot in such a grim and grainy fashion you long to turn on the lights — which is fitting, because you also wish the filmmakers had illuminated the characters a bit more clearly.
Jan 9, 2015
50
This admirable, watercolor-delicate tale of individual feminist emancipation never quite blooms into living color, hampered by spotty casting and Richard Laxton’s overly deliberate direction.
Apr 5, 2015
5
Emma Thompson wrote (and has a small role) in this film that's based on the true story of a teenager (Dakota Fanning), who's married to famous Victorian art critic John Ruskin (Greg Wise). He's unloving, uncaring and uninvolved with her, which causes much anxiety before she finally takes action. Fanning is stripped down to her most plain, but it doesn't motivate her flat performance. It's ironic that such a talented actor like Thompson ended up with such a disappointing lead in her creation. There are some lovely locations (esp. Venice), but the story unfolds too slowly, bleakly and without sufficiently interesting characters or situations.
Production Company:
- Sovereign Films (II)
Release Date:Apr 3, 2015
Duration:1 h 44 m
Rating:PG-13
Awards
Women Film Critics Circle Awards
• 2 Nominations
