ral England, ‘Crimson Peak.’ We
quickly learn that Sharpe and his
sister Lucille (Jessica Chastain)
have ulterior motives in luring
Edith to their home.
Another problem with modern
attempts at gothic is how few
actors can appear convincingly
Victorian, but in Wasikowska,
Hiddleston and Chastain, del
Toro has a assembled a trio of
stars who look a lot more comfortable in Victorian garb than
contemporary clobber. It’s these
NewJerseyStage.com
central performances, along
with the magnificent costumes
and production design, that
keep Crimson Peak from collapsing. Wasikowska has a brittle
Joan Fontaine quality, and Hiddleston was born to play this
sort of old world cad, but it’s
Chastain who steals the show
with a performance that’s not so
much scenery chewing as scenery absorbing.
As gothic melodramas go,
Crimson Peak is fine, but what
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