''I Capture the Castle'' is a 2003 British romantic comedy film directed by

Tim Fywell Tim Fywell is an English television and film director. In 2003 he made his first feature debut with ''I Capture the Castle'', an adaptation of the novel of the same title by Dodie Smith. Fywell directed his first Hollywood feature, ''Ice Prince ...

. It is based on the 1948 novel of the same name by

Dodie Smith Dorothy Gladys "Dodie" Smith (3 May 1896 – 24 November 1990) was an English novelist and playwright. She is best known for writing ''I Capture the Castle'' (1948) and the children's novel ''The Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1956). Other works i ...

, with the screenplay written by

Heidi Thomas Heidi Thomas (born 13 August 1962) is an English screenwriter and playwright. Career After reading English at Liverpool University, Thomas gained national attention when her play, ''Shamrocks And Crocodiles'', won the John Whiting Award in 1 ...

. The film was released in the UK on 9 May 2003.

Romola Garai Romola Sadie Garai (; born 6 August 1982) is a British actress and film director. She appeared in ''Amazing Grace'', ''Atonement'', and ''Glorious 39'', and in the BBC series '' Emma'', '' The Hour'' and ''The Crimson Petal and the White''. In ...

played the lead role of Cassandra Mortmain alongside

Bill Nighy William Francis Nighy (; born 12 December 1949) is an English actor. Nighy started his career with the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool and made his London debut with the Royal National Theatre starting with ''The Illuminatus! Trilogy, The Illuminatu ...

Rose Byrne Mary Rose Byrne (born 24 July 1979) is an Australian actress. She made her screen debut in the film ''Dallas Doll'' (1994), and continued to act in Australian film and television throughout the 1990s. She obtained her first leading film role i ...

and

Tara Fitzgerald Tara Anne Cassandra Fitzgerald (born 18 September 1967) is an English actress who has appeared in feature films, television, radio and the stage. She won the New York Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play in 1995 as Opheli ...

Synopsis

The film follows 17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain, and her eccentric family, struggling to survive in genteel poverty in a decaying English castle. The characters include her father, a writer who hasn't written anything in the 12 years since the spectacular success of his first novel; her older sister Rose, who rails against their fate and hopes to marry for money; and their

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

stepmother, Topaz, an ex-model still apt to sun-bathe in the nude. The possibility of salvation seems to loom in the form of their wealthy American landlord Simon Cotton and his brother Neil. Although Simon initially spurns her, Rose is determined to make him fall in love with her and succeeds. A wedding is arranged and Cassandra appears to be left on the sidelines. Cassandra is confused not only by her feelings for the Cottons but also for Stephen Colley. Stephen is the incredibly attractive son of the Mortmains' former chef who acts as a handyman to the family and is deeply in love with Cassandra. But events spiral out of control, and before the summer ends many expectations will have been overturned.

Production

Parts of the film were shot in Laxey film studio on the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

Manorbier Castle Manorbier Castle ( cy, Castell Maenorbŷr) is a Norman castle in Manorbier, southwest of Tenby, Wales. It was founded in the late 11th century by the Anglo-Norman de Barry family. The castle was part of a mesne lordship under the control of the ...

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...

, Wales, supplied exteriors for the castle, and

Eltham Palace Eltham Palace is a large house at Eltham ( ) in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The house consists of the medieval great hall of a former royal residence, to which an Art Deco extension was added in the 1930s. ...

in London some interiors.

Main cast

Reception

On the basis of 81 reviews collected by the film review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, 80% of critics gave ''I Capture the Castle'' a positive review, with an average rating of 6.7/10.

References

External links

* * *{{Metacritic film 2003 films 2003 romantic comedy films BBC Film films British romantic comedy films 2003 directorial debut films Films about families Films about writers Films based on British novels Films directed by Tim Fywell Films produced by David Parfitt Films scored by Dario Marianelli Films set in the 1930s Films set in castles Films set in England Films shot in the Isle of Man Films shot in London Films shot in Pembrokeshire Films based on works by Dodie Smith Films about sisters 2000s English-language films 2000s British films