Rent The Invisible Woman (2013)

What the Dickens? - The Invisible Woman review by NC

Fiennes does the acting thing, again, very well. Not sure how factually based the film is, but is pretty credible. Like the Holmes film, is part BBC supported, so their attention to detail and period shines through.............still object to paying more than my car tax to BBC each year as a form of enforced taxation. Never watch any BBC, so why should over half the populace pay for the other half??

Promised a lot but gave very little - The Invisible Woman review by CP Customer

At the outset this period drama looked excellent. Good cast, and brilliantly filmed. It was however at least 30 minutes too long. There were many long drawn out irrelevant scenes. You then find that you had missed out on anything that was relevant because the story jumped ahead. It was presumed the watcher would know what was going on. All of a sudden Charles Dickens had set up his girlfriend in a house and was having a relationship with her. (When had that happened?) Up until then any involvement with her had just been alluded to. She then had a stillbirth and said a tearful goodbye to Dickens and it later turned out she was still having a relationship with him. Confusing. Sadly I will never get those minutes back that I wasted watching this film.

Very slow, dull, boring film - The Invisible Woman review by PV

I love Charles Dickens - I am a great fan of his novels and world-view - so I was looking forward to this film. But oh my goodness what a slog it all was.

SO slow - due to 1) a flat script by BBC golden girl Abi Morgan who always focuses on women's interest and portrays women as victims (only she could write a movie script about Mrs Thatcher which did not feature politics at all, but focused on Mrs T as A WOMAN...zzzzzz....); and 2) very dull direction by R. Fiennes which seems to prove the axiom that actors shouldn't direct.

I was yawning and looking at my watch long before this finished.

The script is also confusing and switches back to flashback when Dickens was alive from the 'present' in 1883, 13 years after his death, at random. Moreover, I do not believe the feminist angle imposed on this tale by the writer (who has decided to misrepresent history and show Mrs Dickens as a victim harshly treated when the evidence shows she was just a typical Victorian wife and happy enough). The stuff about Great Expectations being related to Dickens' affair is entirely Morgan's invention.

Very disappointing and boring. One star - but a half a start more for the views of Kent and Gad's Hill, and the good costumes and make-up.