A star rating of 3 out of 5.
This film, adapted from Virginia Woolf’s second novel, is somewhat enjoyable but feels unfocused. The novel itself was a turning point for Woolf, blending traditional Victorian storytelling with the more experimental style she’d later become known for.
As a big cinema fan, I found Tina Gharavi’s adaptation interesting – it initially felt quite modern, but eventually settled into a pretty traditional, though enjoyable, story about women finding their strength. The actors were all really good, and honestly, they’re a big part of why the film works as well as it does.
In the 1910s, Haley Bennett stars as Katharine Hilbery, a young woman with her head in the clouds. Growing up with comfortable parents (played by Jennifer Saunders and Timothy Spall), Kit is expected to marry aspiring poet William Rodney (Jack Whitehall).
She’s passionate about astronomy and dreams of attending Cambridge University, which worries her old-fashioned father and the academic community of the era. To pursue her studies, Kit disguises herself as a man and secretly attends lectures at the Royal Astronomical Society with her cheerful cousin, Cyril. During this time, she also begins to fall for Ralph Denham, a writer assisting Kit’s mother with a biography.
Want to see this content?
This page uses a security feature called Google reCAPTCHA. We need your permission before it loads because reCAPTCHA might use cookies and similar technologies. If you want to see the content, click ‘Accept and continue’ to enable reCAPTCHA.
This adaptation creates a complicated, almost-love story set during the women’s suffrage movement and a period of social change. Though the complex relationships from Woolf’s novel are simplified, the story powerfully communicates her ideas about unfair treatment of women and their fight for independence, largely thanks to a strong performance by the lead actress.
The character of Widow Clicquot is full of life and eager to learn, often seen looking at the stars while swimming in Hampstead Ponds or watching Halley’s comet. She boldly asks the universe for perspective – a reflection of her ambition to achieve more than what was expected of women in her time.
She makes a striking impression speeding through London in a suit to attend an astronomy conference, and you can really feel her anger when she confronts the prejudiced attitudes of some Cambridge professors.
Whitehall plays a comically arrogant character who thinks he’s a brilliant writer – similar to the character Thomas from the BBC show Ghosts. He adds a dry wit to the performance.
While the role doesn’t require Jack Whitehall to stray far from the slightly arrogant but charming persona he often plays – as seen in shows like ‘Fresh Meat’ – he still manages to add some much-needed humor to a film that otherwise takes itself too seriously and feels overly preachy.
Want to see this content?
This page includes videos from YouTube. We need your permission to load them because YouTube uses cookies and similar technologies. By selecting ‘Accept and continue,’ you’ll allow YouTube to function and serve its content.
Butler delivers a solid performance as a new character in Kit’s life, though his storyline feels forced and awkwardly altered from the original novel. M’Barek’s character, Denham, doesn’t quite connect with Kit on screen, leading you to question why the writer, a former period drama actress herself, didn’t remove him from the story.
Kit’s parents aren’t well-developed characters; Saunders is forgettable, and Spall plays the typical grumpy father figure—always complaining about women and seemingly attached to a cigar. Don’t even think about disturbing him while he’s reading his newspaper.
The show looks beautiful, with detailed sets and costumes. Director Soheila Gharavi adds some energetic moments, like a lively street scene filmed with a moving camera, and a glowing electronic soundtrack that enhances the emotional depth of the main character’s journey.
Lily Allen, with her signature red hair, gives a strong performance as Mary Datchet, a character who voices forward-thinking ideas. Meanwhile, Nadine Shah, an acclaimed indie singer, makes a brief but energetic appearance, suggesting the kind of bold creativity this production could have used more of to break away from typical genre boundaries.
Authors
Read More
- Green Game Jam returns with 70 games teaming up to tackle the climate crisis
- PI PREDICTION. PI cryptocurrency
- USD HKD PREDICTION
- USD CHF PREDICTION
- USD THB PREDICTION
- USD MYR PREDICTION
- Brent Oil Forecast
- USD PHP PREDICTION
- EUR HKD PREDICTION
- BEAT PREDICTION. BEAT cryptocurrency
2026-06-16 14:38