In 1922, Louise Brooks travelled from Wichita, Kansas to New York City with a chaperone. Within a few years, she was to become one of the most famous film stars in the world. Louise (Haley Lu Richardson) is an eager liberated girl learning dance from Ruth St. Denis (Miranda Otto) and her husband Ted Shawn. The chaperone Norma (Elizabeth McGovern) is more traditional. She's pro-abolition and anti-Klan. She was adopted and is using the trip to search for her birth parents.
There is a bit of drama but not much in this costume drama. It's a lowkey character study of these two women. Here's the thing. These are big personal revelations but they don't seem that big in the modern sense. Sure it's big for these characters but it's all been done before. More than anything, it feels like it's been done before. Also the opening text takes away some of the tension and puts the movie squarely in the past. It's the past even in relation to the story. While I generally like Haley Lu Richardson, she's not the wild child aspiring movie star. There is a difference even with the snippets in the closing credits. Apparently, this is crewed by some of the Downton Abbey people and it has a very similar tone. It's fine for TV but it needs more intensity.
There is a bit of drama but not much in this costume drama. It's a lowkey character study of these two women. Here's the thing. These are big personal revelations but they don't seem that big in the modern sense. Sure it's big for these characters but it's all been done before. More than anything, it feels like it's been done before. Also the opening text takes away some of the tension and puts the movie squarely in the past. It's the past even in relation to the story. While I generally like Haley Lu Richardson, she's not the wild child aspiring movie star. There is a difference even with the snippets in the closing credits. Apparently, this is crewed by some of the Downton Abbey people and it has a very similar tone. It's fine for TV but it needs more intensity.