Virginia Woolf meets fellow author Vita Sackville-West in London in the 1920s. Despite both of them being married, they embark on an affair that later inspires one of Virginia's novels.
New Zealand film distributors are absolutely loving their lesbian period pieces at the moment, with Colette, Portrait of a Lady of Fire and Tell It To The Bees all hitting our screens in 2019. Vita & Virginia is another to add to that list, having limited screenings at the British Film Festival, it has been picked up for additional screenings from next week.
Based on the real-life affair of writers Vita Sackville-West and Virginia Woolf, there are some similarities to Colette. Where Colette balanced the storyline of the creative and artistic output with the drama of the relationships, Vita & Virginia focuses solely on the evolution of the relationship, with the creative works being more of a byproduct of those interactions. This has the consequence of the tone of the film being based on a single storyline. Talk about putting all your eggs in one basket.
With minimal subplots (all of which are directly connected to the main arc) Vita & Virginia has a very straightforward and linear narrative. In addition to this, the dialogue is stilted and overly formal thanks to the early 20th Century diction that is utilised and further exacerbated by the narrative direction that focuses on the love letters sent between the Woolf and Sackville-West. There is a pretentious manner that when delivered in an apathetic monologue, slows the movement and pacing of the film to a near-complete stop.
It can certainly give an arthouse atmosphere to the film (especially with the CGI effects added in post-production to add variety to the repetitive visual framing), but it doesn't hide the fact that the relationship that transpires onscreen lacks passion and authenticity. Or at the very least, presents a dramatically one-sided affair. Whether an intentional choice in direction or a poor choice in casting, Gemma Arterton falls short of expectations, with a bland performance that never feels impassioned. Emotionless and fake, Arterton is unable to convince the audience of any legitimate chemistry between Woolf and Sackville-West. In fact, there is better chemistry between these polyamorous women and their emotionally estranged husbands.
That is to say that Arterton is the weakest link in the cast. Elizabeth Debicki (who portrays Virginia Woolf), on the other hand, is an absolute delight. Her performance as this less popular author, who has come to accept and utilise her own eccentricities, whilst dealing with bouts of depression and self-deprecation. Not just in her visual display which held some incredibly subtle, yet powerful, emotive expressions, but the way in which her character was written in the screenplay by Eileen Atkins and Chanya Button. There are several layers to the character as she attempts to balance her trauma and depression, with her creative passions, and her new fickle lover.
What was an interesting touch, was the use of a modern electronic score. At first, sounding out of place in a film set in the 1920s, once you come to terms with the contradictory nature of it, the simplistic nature of the composition works well with the film's contents.
Overall, this was an adequate film. Debicki's performance is fascinating to watch but isn't enough to maintain interest in a love story that is unable to properly convey those emotions onscreen. Sluggish pacing and a lack of side plots to expand and develop the characters, make this one of the more forgettable films of the year.
Vita & Virginia is in cinemas from December 5th, 2019