Movie Ratings That Actually Work    Become a Member

"One of the 50 Coolest Websites...they simply tell it like it is" - TIME

Effie Gray | 2015 | PG-13 | - 5.3.1

A loveless marriage between a Victorian era art historian (Greg Wise) and his teenage bride (Dakota Fanning) leads her to seek a different resolution. Also with Emma Thompson, Russell Tovey, Claudia Cardinale, Derek Jacobi, Julie Walters, Robbie Coltrane, James Fox, Tom Sturridge and David Suchet. Directed by Richard Laxton. [1:48]

SEX/NUDITY 5 - A wife wearing a night dress enters her husband's room and unties the dress revealing bare shoulders and her upper chest; she drops her dress (we see her bare back and shoulders) to the floor and stands before her husband who looks at her and leaves the room.
 A husband and his wife lie in bed together in several scenes (both clothed) and sometimes they sleep, sometimes one is asleep and the other is awake; we see the man moving rhythmically with his arm under the covers and masturbation is implied (he stops when his wife calls his name).
 A young woman wears a low-cut dress that reveals cleavage in several scenes. Women wear low-cut dresses in several scenes that reveal cleavage and bare shoulders. A statue of a nude man and a nude woman shows the woman's bare breasts, abdomen and buttocks (genitals are not in great details) and the man's bare chest, abdomen, buttocks and legs (genitals are not clear).
 A woman looks at herself in a mirror and we see her bare shoulders, upper chest and back to the hips (she is implied to be partially nude). A young woman watches a fully nude man come out of a body of water and we see him from a distance (bare chest, abdomen, legs, back and buttocks are seen; his groin is not clearly detailed).
 A man shows a woman how to row a gondola and he grabs her hand and places it on his groin; she protests and runs away, he follows her and corners her, then approaches to kiss her and she runs away again. A wife approaches her husband and places her hand on his groin until the man grabs her hand away angrily. A man touches a married woman's hand tenderly. A man and a married woman look at each other longingly.
 A man and a woman dance in a street and people watching talk about them not being married. A husband touches his wife's hair tenderly and admires her. A man kisses a woman's hand when they meet.
 There are a few discussions about the consummation of marriage and sexual contact. A man tells a young woman that her husband disapproves of pleasure but she does not.

VIOLENCE/GORE 3 - A young woman in bed screams while looking at her hand and we hear later that she imagined seeing something like bark on her hand. A young woman in bed complains of being sick and a servant brings her a liquid to drink (maybe laudanum). A man coughs and holds a handkerchief to his mouth (it's not clear if there is blood on the handkerchief). A young woman is shown losing clumps of hair (she pulls the hair out of her hairbrush and we see bald spots on her scalp). A doctor describes a woman's condition as a "nervous complaint."
 A man shows a woman how to row a gondola and he grabs her hand and places it on his groin; she protests and runs away, he follows her and corners her, then approaches to kiss her and she runs away again. A young woman in a bath submerges and imagines a man approaching her in a darkened alley.
 A man tells a woman that another man fell and we see the second man with a bloody nose. A woman is shown on her hands and knees scouring a rug with a brush.
 Two men argue over art. A woman reprimands her son's wife for mending the man's shirt. A woman yells at a young woman. A man yells at his adult son. A man argues with another man who is going to leave his wife alone with the second man (about impropriety and reputation). A voiceover states that "someone's grandfather killed himself there." A woman tells her daughter-in-law to leave her husband (the woman's adult son) alone. A young woman cries when she receives a letter with news that her mother has lost a child, her 7th. A husband, half-jokingly, tells his wife that he will have her "thrown in the Thames." A husband frequently refers to his wife in a disparaging manner. A wife says that she is sickened by her husband. A wife tells her husband, "I hate you."
 We see a man facing a wall in a busy street and his posture indicates that he might be urinating (it's not clear).

LANGUAGE 1 - Name-calling (self-congratulatory men, wretched, harlot, wicked, insane, mad, wickedness).

SUBSTANCE USE - A young woman in bed complains of being sick and a servant brings her a liquid to drink (maybe laudanum), and a woman drinks something from a small bottle (not identified). People drink wine or sherry at a dinner in a few scenes, and people drink at a café.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Victorian era society, art history, realism, artist's muse, control, integrity, mental cruelty, purpose of art, truthfulness, honesty, happiness, marriage, having children, lack of feeling, corruption, virginity, consummation of marriage, imperfection, beauty, propriety, divorce, annulment, disappointment, resentment, companionship, attention.

MESSAGE - Marriage is difficult, and it was especially so during the Victorian era.

CAVEATS

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.


how to
support us

PLEASE DONATE

We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. You can help us keep our independence with a donation.

NO MORE ADS!

Become a member of our premium site for just $1/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. And you will be helping support our website & our efforts.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we accept compliments too. While we read all emails & try to reply we don't always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address.

how to
support us

PLEASE DONATE

We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. You can help us keep our independence with a donation.

NO MORE ADS!

Become a member of our premium site for just $2/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. And you will be helping support our website & our efforts.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we will accept compliments too. While we read all emails & try to reply we do not always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter

Know when new reviews are published
We will never sell or share your email address with anybody and you can unsubscribe at any time

You're all set! Please check your email for confirmation.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This