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effie gray review dakota

FIRST LOOK: Effie Gray

Produced by Sovereign Films / Distributed by Metrodome
Country: U.K.

“Effie Gray” is a 2012 British biographical drama film directed by Richard Laxton, released in 2014 in the U.K. The film’s release was delayed by several lawsuits that alleged that the script, written by Emma Thompson, was plagiarised from earlier dramatizations of the same story (Thompson won the suit).

The subject of “Effie” is the love triangle involving Victorian art critic John Ruskin (played by Greg Wise), his wife, Euphemia “Effie” Gray (Dakota Fanning), and Pre-Raphaelite artist John Everett Millais (Tom Sturridge). Emma Thompson also appears in the film as Elizabeth Eastlake. In her screenplay Thompson surveys the real-life story of the Effie Gray-John Ruskin marriage, while revealing what was really hiding behind the veil of their public life.

Set in a time when neither divorce, nor gay marriage were an option, “Effie Gray” is the coming-of-age story of a young woman finding her own voice in a world where women were expected to be seen but not heard. Film explores the roots of sexual intolerance, which continue to have a stronghold today, while shedding light on the marital politics of the Victorian Era

(Run time: 108 mins; MPAA Rating: PG-13). Stars Dakota Fanning, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters, Tom Sturridge and Robbie Coltrane.

Film comes out April 3rd.