Albatross (2011)

Albatross: Directed by Niall MacCormick. With Jessica Brown Findlay, Harry Treadaway, Josef Altin, Felicity Jones. Beth, a bookish teenager, befriends Emilia, an aspiring novelist who has just arrived in town. Emilia soon begins an affair with Beth’s father that threatens to have devastating consequences.

“Jessica Findlay Brown, who is starting to make a name for herself by shining in Downton Abbey is a truly sensational young actress who people should certainly keep an eye on, give it a few years and sheu0026#39;ll be everywhere I suspect. Albatross is a film which kind of reminded me of another British film of late, Tamara Drewe, the plot line of both ate very similar, but this film has a great drama and family aspect to it also, thatu0026#39;s not to say itu0026#39;s not funny either because it is. The film starts off somewhat confusing, you donu0026#39;t know where itu0026#39;s headed but itu0026#39;s not long til you get the hang of the direction and you just enjoy the ride, the story is about a social misfit who imposes herself on a family in desperate need of a kick start, she befriends the teenage daughter, wonderfully played by the luminous Felicity Jones, starts a brief affair with the father and comes head to head with the high strung mother. The affair plot line is what reminds me of Tamara Drewe, this is the plot line I found the least interesting but hey the movie has so many great scenes itu0026#39;s hard not to enjoy.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe performances are pretty good all round, Brown and Jones are the standouts though, I did find the Julia Ormond character to be an absolute annoyance, and somehow I think the character would have been different if played by a nicer actress, Iu0026#39;m not saying sheu0026#39;s not good but Iu0026#39;d rather see someone else in this role.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis really is Jessica Findlay-Brownu0026#39;s film all the way, she owns every scene she is in, she steals the show all the way through, the film is just give or take, itu0026#39;s not gonna change your life but you arenu0026#39;t going to hate it either, it will sure brighten up your day though. And as I said, keep your eye on Brown, I bet sheu0026#39;s the next big thing. :)”