Outstanding work, Mr. Fiennes! Everyone loves to happen upon a film and be delightfully surprised to find it's a treasure! Your work is a startlingly underrated film directed by a gifted hand. with no weak links. All elements of the film are strong: Acting, directing, editing, script, costume, lighting and set design harmonize to do justice to the subject matter. Creative license was with a light touch; casting was spot-on. A good director has an ear for dialogue; a great director an ear for silence. Mr. Fiennes, heartfelt thanks for your refreshing use of silence in the movie. Also, thank you for allowing your supporting actors to shine. All actors forgot themselves in their roles, no one chewed the scenery This was due to expert casting and direction.Do I believe a familiarity with the life of Charles Dickens and his work contribute to an enjoyment of this film? Yes. Am I sympathetic towards those who do not know the work of Dickens or his contemporaries? No.

Dull and unengaging, despite the cast.The true story of how, in later life, Charles Dickens (played by Ralph Fiennes), while married, becomes infatuated with a younger woman, Nelly (played by Felicity Jones). The movie follows their relationship.On the plus side, this isn't your usual syrupy-sweet, trite romance. There is a degree of vulnerability on both sides, and it's not all wine-and-roses. However, the story never really grabs you. It just seems to drift along with the only telling scene being the final one involving Felicity Jones.On that note, Felicity Jones is wonderful (as always) as Nelly. Ralph Fiennes is solid as Charles Dickens. Good support from Kristen Scott Thomas.

The best thing about this movie is that it convincingly recreated Dickens's world. The sets and the costumes are meticulously reproduced. Real-life personages such as Mark Lemon and Wilkie Collins are convincingly portrayed. It gives the viewer a window into the Victorian era. It's true to all the known and provable facts.Now having said that, it's not entirely successful as drama -- mostly because Nelly is made out to be way too saintly and long-suffering. The movie gives you the impression that she had strong moral reservations about Dickens's courtship, had sex with him only once, enjoyed an idyllic nine months with him until their child was still-born, and then totally regretted the whole thing. The truth is that they were a couple for at least ten years, and were probably still a couple at his his death. The actress who plays Nelly is extraordinarily beautiful, but she does nothing except look pained throughout the whole movie.

Now this really did feel like such a type of cliché, the type of British period piece that puts people to sleep. it sounds like quite a lazy criticism, and in a way it is, but it comes down to that. This was just not very interesting, and as a result, kind of dull. It's not "bad" though so I feel like I owe it at least some stars, and the acting is good and the technical aspects very good as well. I just wish it was better as a film overall. Fiennes is good, but jones is really the heart and soul of the film and remains a very interesting, captivating performer that I hope to see a lot of in the future. So yes, I don't really recommend this, but it's definitely an admirable effort from all involved.