Review of Gothic (1987) by Dillinger P — 01 Jun 2014

Its no secret that Ken Russell is among one of the most disturbing and visual greats, this work is no lesser true of his visual strong points. However its complete bonkers approach, over the top acting and quite frankly confusing 3rd act make it one that not many people will enjoy, if thats what was intended with this piece.

Gothic is set in the 1800's where the Lord Byron has been exhiled and banished to an island in Britain. One day Percy, Mary and Claire come to visit the lord and his absolute bonkers Alchimist Dr Polidori.

What ensues is a night of lust, fear, hallucingins and bizarre games of sex and torment. Its a wild piece and one that luckily doesnt outstay its welcome. The cast are all wallowing in the chomp of the chat, although if this isnt your cup of tea, you will most likely find it pompous and irritating.

Byrne, Sands and Spall all do wonderful jobs with the presentations of Byron, Percy and Polidori, however Spall comes away looking like hes having the most fun out of the ensemble. The women are ok, Myrium Cyr does well enough as the half sister sex magnet and Richardson is palatable as the lead of the whole piece Mary Shelly however her presence isnt realised until the final act, at which point the entire story dives head first into madness and confusion.

It is an interesting tale, presumably how Mary Shelly created the horror novel Frankenstein after her traumatic night in Byrons presence but its all a bit all over the place. The final act is just a step too far.

However its wonderful location, camera work and thick script, stop the film from being a complete led balloon. Infuriating and bizarre this film is fun, however it has dated and some of the more pretentious attributes will probably not appease a large demographic.