neumu [ cinematronic ]




	I Capture The Castle
	Tim Fywell Romola Garai, Rose Byrne, Henry Thomas, Mark Blucas, Bill Nighy, Tara Fitzgerald, Sinéad Cusack 2003		Spun from the novel by Dodie Smith, "I Capture the Castle" is a capably acted, blissfully romantic period piece set in the lush English countryside during the pre-war 1930s, with a script that flits from Boho angst to class-war melodrama to lovey-dovey fluff that's the movie equivalent of a bubble bath. Not that there's anything wrong with bubble baths. Cassandra Mortmain (Romola Garai) is a wise-beyond-her-years 17-year-old girl with a beautiful, headstrong older sister, Rose (Rose Byrne), and a nerdy younger brother. They all live in a dilapidated castle with their free-spirited stepmom (nubile Tara Fitzgerald) and their father (craggy Bill Nighy), a self-flagellating novelist who wrote one acclaimed novel when he was younger and has since wrestled with writer's block to no avail and much misery. The family's hope for the future is withering. Then, two handsome American brothers — Simon (Henry Thomas of "E.T.," all grown up) and Neil Cotton (Mark Blucas) — inherit the estate where the castle is situated. As the new landlords, they pay a visit to their tenants, the Mortmains, and bring the promise of love to the sisters. But will anyone pair off? Directed by Tim Fywell with considerable warmth.