I enjoyed The Invisible Woman, but I must say the film did not make much of an impression on me; in fact, my memory of it is something of a grey-brown blur. This true story about Charles Dickens’ secret mistress is certainly interesting enough on a superficial level, but the film feels overly-reserved, overly subtle, and that may be being kind. The film’s ideas are dealt with in a rather minimalist and perfunctory manner, dialog is utilitarian, character development is broad-brush, and in the end I really did not come away with an understanding of main character or her life. Ralph Fiennes is decently winning as Charles Dickens, and the always splendid Tom Hollander and Kristen Scott Thomas turn in nice supporting performances. But Felicity Jones is more of a mixed bag as an actress – sometimes she brings a really nice quality to the screen and sometimes it feels like she is just taking up space. I don’t blame her for the vagueness of her character, but she definitely did not find a way for her character to transcend the film’s writing.

If you really like period pieces, The Invisible Woman is pretty okay entertainment. That’s as far as I will go in endorsing this film.