This film was a big disappointment.
Despite being beautifully filmed, it is petty with poor character development.
Dolly (Felicity Jones) is about to get married but isn't thrilled with her choice in groom, though she says otherwise. She keeps longing for her boyfriend from some months ago, Joseph (Luke Treadaway). But Joseph went away to Greece for some sort of dig. After all, he is a professor. Oh, yeah, who knows what these people do for a living, they are the typical rich and useless people that fill up plenty of British films.
Dolly does things in her own time and finally runs into Joseph just before she is getting in the car, and she doesn't want to hear what he has to say. She gets married to Owen (the always underused James Norton, who is never allowed to develop any as a character) and then heads off to Argentina.
The big reveal falls flat. Joseph calls Dolly out for getting married so quickly. She is pregnant but not even he knows who the father is though he himself is a candidate but he is unsure. I don't understand how he would be privileged to that information when the two haven't spoken in weeks.
The characters aren't that interesting with the exception of Dolly's younger sister, Kitty (Ellie Kendrick) who even sneaks off with her aunt's chauffeur, and Dolly's friend, Evelyn (Zoe Tapper) who is probably the most sensible person there, though she doesn't wish to get married. Elizabeth McGovern is Dolly's in denial mother who is livid that Joseph is there.
The characters take actions that you don't fully understand, though they are pretty interesting and the acting is good. I don't understand why Owen was so insistent on Dolly not being able to take her turtle (a gift from Joseph) with them on the boat trip to Argentina where they will be for at least two years. Joseph is just able to leave Dolly but then he admits that he lets her break his heart, not the other way around.
This film was unfortunately, a waste of my time but it is what it is. At least it was a beautiful journey, too bad nothing was obtained along the way. Grade: B-
Why did Dolly marry Owen when she isn't particularly fond of him then?
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