The Abduction Club is set in Ireland in the late 18th century, and based on actual events. It is about a group of young men who are younger sons (i.e., not the heir) of wealthy aristocrats, whose only choice in life is to marry heiresses or get a job (usually in the church). They are members of a secret men's club where each member in his turn woos an heiress, and when he think he's "wooed" her enough, he and his friends "abduct" the lady and he proposes. A clergyman is present who will marry the couple if she agrees.
The main character, Garrett Byrne, meets Catharine Kennedy at the races, and decides that he's met his future bride. Later, when he tries to abduct her from a private musical concert, his friend, James Strang abducts Catharine's younger sister, Anne, as well. All does not go smoothly for the two couples, as Mr. Power, the older gentleman who is Anne's intended, tracks them down to the house where they've brought the girls to propose to them. Anne, who does not want to marry Mr. Power, runs away, with her sister and the two suitors following after her.
The story is very unique from any other period film I've seen, and it has many comedic moments, which I really enjoyed. The comedy was well done and did not seem out of place. The abduction scene was particularly funny, and the actors played the scene well.
The actors are well cast for the most part. Daniel Lapaine and Matthew Rhys are perfect as Byrne and Strang. They have a great chemistry together as men who have been friends for a long time. They perform the comedic bits very well, and I enjoyed their performances very much.
Sophia Myles shines as Anne. She has a sweet innocence to her, but her character is also very headstrong, and she knows what she wants, as well as what she doesn't want. I wasn't as drawn to Alice Evans (who, by the way is married to one my favorite actors, Ioan Gruffudd) as Catharine as I was to the other actors. Some of it had to do with her hair, which I know is a very shallow thing to complain about, but well, there it is. Even though I didn't like Catharine as much as I liked Anne, I still enjoyed the movie very much.
Liam Cunningham plays Mr. Power with the cunning (pun not intended) and dispicability you expect from a good villain.
There is more to the plot than just four people on the run with the possibility of romances blossoming. And there is more than one villain. The ending may have been a bit predictable, but I loved the journey that took us there, and there were some surprises.
Now, let's talk about scenery. As I said, the movie is set in Ireland, and the scenes of the countryside and coast were beautiful. I would so love to visit Ireland someday.
Unfortunately, the film is not available on DVD in the United States (I bought the DVD for region 2 players only).
No comments:
Post a Comment