CAMILLA DICKINSON – SLIFF Review

Review by Dana Jung

Newberry and National Book Award- winning author Madeleine L’Engle (1918 – 2007) will always be remembered in the world of juvenile fiction. As the creator of A WRINKLE IN TIME and its various sequels, L’Engle established herself for decades as a unique and prolific favorite of younger readers. Based on one of her earlier and more semi-autobiographical novels, the new film CAMILLA DICKINSON is a coming-of-age story that reflects the special quality that made L’Engle so appealing: a memorable heroine.

Camilla is a shy, intelligent, and quietly sensitive teen attending private school in New York, circa 1950. The film opens on her troubled face as she sits outside her home, waiting. The reason for her hesitation
soon becomes clear as she finally enters to find her mother alone with a male friend. After some awkward moments, Camilla’s father arrives to compound the uncomfortable situation. Thus begins a stressful and ultimately life-altering few weeks where this young girl discovers the wisdom within herself to survive the sometimes emotional turbulence of adulthood. This slow-moving but always interesting drama, written and directed by Cornelia Moore, knows that the key to its story is in its performances. In the pivotal title role, Australian actress Adelaide Clemens is wonderful as Camilla. With her open and honest face that is transformed by her huge smile, Clemens slowly engages our empathy with her softly articulated feelings and reactions. Camilla is a deep thinker, who not only has definite opinions about the world around her, but also has a surprisingly realistic perception of herself. Camilla’s dream of becoming an astronomer is an apt metaphor for her desire to have a more settled family life, as the constancy of the universe must seem very attractive to her. In short, we like this girl and want to see her safe and happy by the end of the movie. The supporting cast is uniformly excellent as well. Cary Elwes (PRINCESS BRIDE) is Camilla’s somewhat aloof father while Samantha Mathis (has it really been 16 years since BROKEN ARROW?) is her distraught mother. Colby Minifie and TV’s Gregg Sulkin (PRETTY LITTLE LIARS, WAVERLY PLACE) are Camilla’s best friends with their own family issues, while Camryn Manheim and Robert Picardo have small but important roles as the happy parental flipside of Camilla’s
situation.

Will Camilla ever realize her dreams? With a literate and faithful script, nice performances, gentle humor, and even a dash or two of romance, CAMILLA DICKINSON rewards the patient viewer with a charming and satisfying answer.

CAMILLA DICKINSON screens as part of the 21st Annual Whitaker Saint Louis International Film Festival on Sunday, November 11th at at 7:00pm at Washington U./Brown Hall