ANGELS AND INSECTS
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1996 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 7.0 Alternative Scale: *** out of ****
UK/US, 1995 U.S. Release Date: beginning 1/96 (limited) Running Length: 1:57 MPAA Classification: R (Sex, nudity, mature themes) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Mark Rylance, Patsy Kensit, Kristin Scott Thomas, Douglas Henshall, Jeremy Kemp, Annette Badland, Saskia Wickham Director: Philip Haas Producers: Belinda Haas, Lindsey Law, Kerry Orent, and Joyce Herlihy Screenplay: Philip Haas and Belinda Haas based on the novella MORPHO EUGENIA by A.S. Byatt Cinematography: Bernard Zitzermann Music: Alexander Balanescu U.S. Distributor: The Samuel Goldwyn Company
In the words of actor Douglas Henshall, ANGELS AND INSECTS, the latest film from MUSIC OF CHANCE writer/director Philip Haas, is "Merchant Ivory meets Tennessee Williams." It's a fair comparison. The movie is a period piece, taking place in the late 1850s and early 1860s, but the air of Victorian restraint is frequently disturbed by aggressive displays of sexuality. However, unlike the work of either Merchant & Ivory or Tennessee Williams, ANGELS AND INSECTS is a presentation of ideas over characters. And, although competently acted, it lacks the one standout performance which could have transformed it from a fascinating motion picture to a great one.
ANGELS AND INSECTS, based on A.S. Byatt's novella MORPHO EUGENIA, opens in Victorian England with the arrival of naturalist William Adamson (Mark Rylance) at the demesne of the Alabaster family. William was recently shipwrecked on his return journey from South America, and, in that disaster, lost all of his worldly possessions. Reverend Alabaster (Jerermy Kemp), keen to have an educated scientist help with a book he is writing, invites William to live in his house. Once there, he becomes infatuated with the serenely beautiful-but-cold Eugenia (Patsy Kensit), the eldest daughter of the Alabasters. Although not hopeful that a match is likely, William nevertheless courts Eugenia, and is greatly surprised when she accepts his marriage proposal. But a dark secret in her past cannot stay buried forever.
In many ways, this film is a study in contrasts: the passionate abandon of the South American natives to the structured restraint of England's Victorian aristocrats, Darwin's evolution to the Bible's creation, butterflies to ants, and beauty to intelligence. Haas wants us not only to understand the rigidity of life on the Alabaster estate, but to see the decadence that bubbles just beneath the surface. Eugenia's apparent physical perfection, which enthralls William, hides a dead, ravaged soul.
Haas has elected not to reveal the horror of Eugenia's situation in one melodramatic moment of discovery. Instead, he gradually unfolds the truth, feeding it to the audience bit-by-bit, clue-by-clue, so that when the generally-oblivious William finally learns his wife's secret, we are already cognizant of it. The entire narrative of ANGELS AND INSECTS is fashioned like this, with slow, steady revelations.
If Eugenia is the butterfly -- beautiful, fragile, and as vapid as "colored air", then Matty Crompton (Kristin Scott Thomas), an educated woman living with the Alabasters, is the ant -- plain, resourceful, and intelligent. It doesn't take William long to learn that he has married the wrong woman. Matty is his perfect companion, but he recognizes too late how little value should be placed on physical appearance.
ANGELS AND INSECTS compares human life to that of an ant colony. The similarities and differences are striking. Like men and women, ants are organized, social creatures whose primary purpose is reproduction. However, in the kingdom of the insects, there is no decadence, no hatred, and no duplicity. Ants serve their queen selflessly rather than always seeking their own ends. Humans think of themselves as civilized -- the product of generations of sexual selection -- but the true barbarism of their nature often surfaces.
The drawback of ANGELS AND INSECTS is a combination of lackluster characterization and mediocre acting. None of the men or women populating this film grab our sympathy. In the case of someone as shallow as Eugenia, this is entirely appropriate, but William remains strangely distant, in part because of a bland performance by Mark Rylance. As Anthony Hopkins has shown, it's possible to present a passionate portrait of restraint. Unfortunately, Rylance's William is too often without soul or heart. This leads us to watch him with interest, but never become emotionally engaged in his travails.
Ultimately, the reason to see ANGELS AND INSECTS is for its keen and intricate explorations of human sexual and social interaction. In the world of insects, there is only one layer, but men and women hide truth beneath many facades. Yet perhaps the most striking similarity is how members of both species are capable of stinging without remorse, unconcerned about the consequences. That's an uncomfortable message that everyone can relate to.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net, jberardinell@delphi.com web: http://www2.cybernex.net/~berardin
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