Though Dickens soon sends a letter to the Times in which he announces his separation from Catherine and defends the "spotless" honor of the unnamed young woman with whom he has been linked, there is, for reasons the movie doesn't explain, no chance that he will divorce the one in order to marry the other. Thus does Nelly become that which she didn't want to be: a famous man's mistress. They decamp to France, where they have a son who dies in childbirth. On returning to England, they are caught in a horrific train wreck and Dickens emerges trying to make it seem that he was traveling alone.
The fascination of this story has much to do with the way it is told. In Fiennes' handling, very little is stated in a straightforward or obvious way. It's almost as if he took Abi Morgan's screenplay (adapted from Claire Tomalin's book) and stripped away its most utilitarian dialogue, leaving only hints and suggestions of emotions that then must be fleshed out by the actors. The method, whatever its source, makes for a narrative that's constantly evocative, mysterious, almost impressionistic, and that involves the viewer in the pleasurably engrossing game of puzzling out the characters' aim and motives, especially in the early parts of the story when the lovers' attraction is conveyed through only the most subtle of looks and gestures.
The success of this gambit entails a range of fine performances, especially in the lead roles. Bewigged and whiskered, Fiennes creates an exuberant portrait of Dickens that encompasses his vanity and selfishness as well as his bounteousness and thirst for life. As Nelly, the luminous Jones conveys the young woman's mix of awe, intoxication and anxiety as she is drawn inexorably into the orbit of a powerful older man. Among the terrific supporting cast, Scanlan deserves special commendation for her work in showing Catherine Dickens' dignity and grace in heart-rending circumstances.
"The Invisible Woman" is one of those evanescent conjurings of a bygone time in which every part serves the whole. The most entrancing and persuasive evocation of Victorian England offered in any recent film, it reflects superb work on the parts of many contributors including cinematographer Rob Hardy, production designer Maria Djurkovic, costumer Michael O'Connor and editor Nicolas Gaster.
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