The Invisible Woman drew me and my friends in slowly and inexorably into the life of Ellen Ternan, and her entrapment by the almost mesmeric power of Charles Dickens' charm and fame. Felicity Jones portrays the tremulous but strong-willed Ellen, desperately trying to avoid being forced into becoming Dickens' "invisible" mistress. An 18 year-old from a theatrical family, without the protection of a father or any particular talent either for the stage or anything else, Ellen was more or less forced into her illegitimate relationship with Dickens, a married, if brilliant man. Go to this move to soak in a truly rich, detailed view of Victorian life, beautifully acted, and directed by Fiennes and his skilful crew. Besides those of Fiennes and Jones, especially fine was the deceptively simple, truthful performance of Joanna Scanlan as Dickens' wife Catherine. Kristin Scott Thomas was fine as ever as Ellen's mother, as were all the rest of the supporting cast and design crew. Go!

Definitely go see it! I enjoyed it thoroughly although several of my older companions missed a great deal of it as they had a hard time hearing some of the soft spoken dialogue. Get HEAD PHONES where possible.