The Moth Diaries, 2011.
Directed by Mary Harron.
Starring Lily Cole, Sarah Bolger, Sarah Gadon, Valerie Tian, Melissa Farman and Scott Speedman.
SYNOPSIS:
Private schoolgirls Rebecca (Sarah Bolger) and Lucie (Sarah Gadon) are the best of friends. They appear to be inseparable and following the suicidal death of her father two years before, Rebecca in particular has great reliance on the support provided by Lucie. As a new term begins at the elite boarding school the sixteen-year old buddies find themselves being separated by a stake in the form of a new arrival called Ernessa Bloch (Lily Cole.) As the bond between the two grows weaker, so does Lucie and Rebecca’s jealousy, fuelled by the mysterious Ernessa, causes her to become obsessed and speculate wildly about just who, or what, this strange new girl is.
What a very frustrating film this is. Based on Rachel Klein’s book of the same title, The Moth Diaries starts off at a reasonable pace, setting things up quite well and inviting you into Harron’s vision of Klein’s moody novel. Once you’re inside though everything begins to slow down, eventually coming to a dead stop at the film’s conclusion. Bolger and Gadon were good and did what they were asked of; demonstrating the very close relationships that can develop in certain situations, but I was left feeling they weren’t pushed anywhere near what could have been achieved had the screenplay been better written. Lily Cole’s porcelain skin and doll-like features were an excellent choice for the role of the instigator of the friend’s problems and together with her tall frame she made a great….something.
Herein lies another problem with the production, lots of things are suggested during the film as to just what Ernessa is; she doesn’t appear to eat anything, she walks the school grounds at night, Lucie gets gradually weaker and weaker and things tie-in with the course on gothic literature that Rebecca is studying. However, I was left feeling that it had been cut short at the end, although this may be because it possibly was; it’s only about an hour and twenty minutes long!
The cinematography by Declan Quinn is one of the film’s few high points and deserved better support from the rest of the movie, with gloomy interiors using dark palettes of greys and blues to successfully darken the mood at the right times.
It’s a bit of a shame because I think this had good potential; the cast was quite strong with capable actors and as I said, the cinematography was of a good standard. Unfortunately it seemed to be more interested in drawing in the Twilight saga fans in much the same way that moths are inexorably entranced by and drawn to the moon. As such, it felt to me more like a good TV movie and nothing more.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
J-P Wooding – Follow me on Twitter.
Originally published September 16, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
