Mary Shelley (2017)

On the strength of its trailer, I nearly didn't see Mary Shelley. I'd also noticed the film was receiving a lot of mediocre reviews, which reinforced my opinion that it would be a dull, self-important, ham-acted film.

However, there was enough craftsmanship on display that at the very least I thought it might look interesting, so the notion of making my own mind up about it nagged at me for a while.

My decision to see it over the weekend was made at the last minute - well the last half hour anyway. I had a nagging headache, was too hot and thought if the film was boring, at least I could have a nap in an air-conditioned cinema.

It took me about five minutes to realise my fears were unwarranted. Instead of being the trudge that I had expected, I found that I was enjoying the story.

The film is by no means perfect. At times the dialogue indulges in earnest feminist declarations, more concerned with forcing its point rather than letting it be made naturally.

Perhaps some of that is down to Elle Fanning's delivery. Although she handles the part and the accent well for the most of the time, I was left with the nagging feeling that she was spending too much effort sound 'proper'. At times it worked with her soft spoken delivery working as counterpoint to her physical acting, but it kept reminding me that she was acting rather than allowing me to be swept up in the story.

Aside from those moments though, I found much to enjoy about the film. Costuming, set design and the score were particular standouts, and minus the less subtle moments of storytelling, I was quite happy with the writing too.