The proud and the profane

Rating: 5/10 (30 September 2012)

A comparatively poor but aspiring Doctor (McAvoy) seduces a wealthy young woman of class (Knightley) in 1930's England, but their budding romance is struck a fatal blow when he's framed for a rape. Lengthy and laborious effort doesn't really deliver on the hype, the youthful leads perhaps not convincing enough to persuade me of their plight, their sacrifices and the severity of the injustice done to them by the immature teen (Ronan) who manufactures the scandal that tears their lives apart.
The twist ending is welcome though a tad depressing, and the appearance late in the film of Vanessa Redgrave as the present day version of the Saoirse Ronan character is quality casting. But for me, McAvoy is too juvenile for this role, Knightley while apparently more age appropriate and able to perform both the regal and promiscuous roles well in tandem, needs a stronger, more virile and masculine leading man to properly establish her character's complexity.
There's some exciting war battles, authentic-looking sets and costumes, and while it's epic, the narrative is constant, but ultimately for me the dialogue sounded a little beyond the performer's capabilities in its unnatural delivery, and the overall impact was earnest but unconvincing.