Review of Ballet Shoes (2008) by Zarinah H — 05 Aug 2009

Having never read Noel Streatfield's "Ballet Shoes", I can't compare this movie adaptation to the book [I understand that the movie is a condensed version of the book], but I must say I found the movie to be quite entertaining. This is partly due to the wonderful assembly of actors chosen to act in it and the various familiar faces - Emilia Fox [ played the role of Ms Georgiana Darcy in the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice], Emma Watson [Hermione of Harry Potter fame], Lucy Boynton [played the youngest Ms Dashwood in the 2008 adaptation of Sense and Sensibility], Richard Griffiths [also of Harry Potter], Harriet Walter, Eileen Atkins, and Gemma Jones. It was so wonderful seeing all these beloved actors together in one movie.

The story starts with an eccentric paleontologist, Dr GUM [Great Uncle Matthew played by Richard Griffiths] who is forced to take in his orphaned niece Sylvia [later played by Emilia Fox] who is accompanied by her nurse, Nana. Over the next several years, GUM goes off on expeditions returning each time with a baby girl, and the three are raised as sisters - Pauline Fossil [Emma Watson], Petrova Fossil [Yasmin Paige], and Posy Fossil [Lucy Boynton]. When GUM goes off on another expedition and doesn't return for 12 years, the ladies and girls are left to fend for themselves, forced to take in boarders, and Pauline also goes to work on the stage as an actress to supplement the family income. The focus is mostly on the three girls, and though Emma Watson does a credible job with her role, she is often outshined by Yasmin Paige as the middle sister, Petrova, who finds herself in a quandary - she can neither act well like Pauline or dance like Posy. What she wishes for ardently is to be an aviator, a high ambition indeed for one so young and at a time when women pilots were few and far between.

There is also a sub-plot [which seems more like an afterthought] focusing on a supposed love triangle between Sylvia, a male lodger, Mr Simpson [Marc Warren], and female boarder Theo Dane [Lucy Cohu].

The story was paced well-enough but was flawed in terms of character development if only because of the movie's length - only 84 minutes total running time. But the period details were wonderful and the charming and able cast made it a worthwhile and engaging watch.

Some of the bonuses on the DVD include an interview with Emma Watson, some deleted scenes, a movie trailer, and an audiobook reading of an excerpt from Ballet Shoes.