Affinity

Affinity is an adaption of a Sarah Waters novel by the same name. IMDb and some other sources on the internet tell me that the film is 2 hours long. I was unable to find a two hour version of the film, only a 90 minute one. If anyone has any leads about the potential two hour cut of Affinity, please let me know. I would be interested to see a longer cut as my main issue with Affinity is that it felt too rushed.

Affinity takes place in Victorian England. Its lead character is upper-class woman Margaret Prior who becomes a lady visitor at a nearby prison. Part of the reason for Margaret to take up the position is to distract herself. Margaret’s brother has recently gotten married to a woman Margaret had a relationship with. Margaret is still mourning the end of this romance. At the prison, Margaret becomes particularly taken with a prisoner named Selena Dawes. Selena is imprisoned for allegedly killing a young woman. Selena worked as a psychic and medium and claims the death was due to one of her spirits. Margaret is taken by Selena and her seeming displays of psychic ability. She begins to try and unravel the mystery of her imprisonment all while falling for the mysterious Selena.

Man, nobody does a period drama like the Brits. I should know. I’m Canadian and god knows we keep trying but our stuff is rarely as good as an even half-decent UK period drama. I love the costumes, the languages and the settings in Affinity. Despite being a TV movie, it does take me back to Victorian England. The attention to detail from people in the wardrobe, set and props department really comes together to make this a god looking and believable period piece.

Beyond these aspects, the film is at its best when its visually-based. The best way to adapt Affinity is to mimic its “vibe” more than necessarily going plot point by plot point. This is the main reason I’d like to see a longer cut. The atmospheric aspects of the film are what interested me most and I would like to see more of them. An ability to linger on small moments and beautiful imagery would really bring Affinity to life.

Disappointingly, the camera work is not up to snuff for this task. The camera work feels amateur at times. There’s a lot of blatant and mistimed zooms that feel jarring and extremely basic. The writing saves the movie but it is a shame as you honestly don’t need a particularly strong writer for this film, it would be a pretty easy adaption. But a director with a keen eye and ability to work a zoom properly would have really benefited the film.

But, at least the writing was good. This is a faithful adaption which hits all the main plot points and fleshes out some interesting themes. For example, the prison aspect. When Margaret goes to the women’s prison it is appropriately bleak and looks like a bad place to live. It is also the source of some of the film’s best visual work. The bleak prison scenes mirror Margaret’s own life. While obviously, she has a much better place to rest her head at night, Affinity teases out that Margaret too is imprisoned. Her status as a young, unmarried woman severely limits her freedom. The requirements placed upon her to act a certain way, dress a certain way, marry well and not be independent all restrict her, imprison her, even.

The third act of the film is by far the best. The film’s emotional tension comes to a head. Though I read the book and thus knew the ending, I was engaged and on the edge of my seat. Affinity really does make you feel the tragedy and desperation of Margaret and Selena. Poor Margaret is so ready to be in love with someone and latches onto Selena to an unhealthy degree. And as for Selena, there’s an agenda behind her affection for Margaret. This makes it tragic to see the scenes of Margaret being so open with a woman who has ulterior motives. But on the other hand, I’d do a lot worse than Selena did to get out of old-timey jail.

Affinity is a decent adaption of strong source material. Because it has the solid backing being based on a book, it’s a stronger lesbian TV movie than most. Obviously, the book is still better though. There’s nothing particularly wrong with Affinity it’s just that there is potential to maker a stronger, more artistic adaption. As much as I enjoyed this version, I can’t help hoping that The Handmaiden director Park Chan-Wook decides to do a beautiful, disturbing adaption of this Sarah Waters novel too.

Overall rating: 6.7/10

Other WLW films in similar genres