Crimson Peak: For

Release Date: 16 October 2015

Director: Guillermo Del Toro

Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Charlie Hunnam, Jim Beaver.

Plot/Narrative: Atmospheric from the get go, the audience is plunged into the life of Edith Cushing, an aspiring writer who has a susceptibility to ghostly meetings. After losing her mother, Edith lives alone with her successful ‘rags to riches’ father in America. Her passion for writing leads her to her father’s office for the use of its facilities. During this we meet the two potential love matches, the mysterious inventor, Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) and childhood friend, Dr Alan McMichael (Charlie Hunnam). The constant looming of Thomas’ sister Lucille (Jessica Chastain) leads to a gradual building of suspense. After a family tragedy, Edith’s visit to Crimson Peak leads to many a spooky moment and the constant feeling of being watched.

What are the brother and sister hiding? What is it about Crimson Peak that seems so untoward?

I happened to go to the cinema to watch it and to my surprise I thoroughly enjoyed it. At first it seemed like two parallel narratives with the ghostly aspect and the normality of Edith’s life. However, both are cleverly intertwined. Crimson Peak is a gothic film, filled with the unfamiliar seeping into the familiar. I enjoyed both in equal measure, this was helped by an extraordinary cast, with strong female leads. It is a film which initially was presented in the advertising as held up by Hiddleston’s character Thomas Sharpe, however this is unfair as without Chastain and Wasikowska’s performance, the film would be lacking plot and substance. Even though I would recommend this film, I also see the flaws in it. The parallel plots present some disjointed moments throughout the film, as both subplots would be interesting and very different film choices for the audience. Without the interlinking, it is my belief that the message of the film would be lost. One point I would have stressed within the film, had I been the director, was more on the contextual link to Edith’s struggle to publish her work as a woman and her actual writing.

The set is by far the star of the show in this film. The building of Allerdale Hall (Crimson Peak) was actually a real life set. This created the mood of the film, as ostentatiously, del Toro details a darkened hovel with elements of grandeur. The aspect of Allerdale Hall being once a place of beauty, which has fallen into considerable ruin is shown through the sinking floor with red clay, connoting that of rotting corpses and blood. The costumes are also significant and are fantastic in their design.