21 thoughts on “WCW: Romola Garai

  1. Daniel Deronda, Vanity Fair, I Captured the Castle are my favs. But I loved them all. Churchill’s Secret was interesting.

  2. She is highly underrated as an actress. Love all her work. And definitely, watch The Hour if you have not!

  3. I saw Romola in King Lear a few years back and I have never been able to get over the dress she wore. It was absolutely gorgeous. She is also one of my favorite actresses so it was fun to see her in person.

  4. She’s great in everything. I Capture the Castle (movie AND book) is one of my favorites, and I loved that version of Emma — though Jonny Lee Miller is too close to her in age to be Mr. Knightley! He’s supposed to be 17 years older than her and but they’re really only 10 years apart. The costumes in that version are fabulous, though.

  5. I’ve loved her since Daniel Deronda and I Capture the Castle (weird factoid: written by Dodie Smith who also wrote 101 Dalmatians!!). I was amazed that Romola was so good, so young. And so beautiful. Queenly even, a natural for fabulous costumes.

  6. I Capture the Castle is so good I love it! Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing is perfect, but As you like it is super boring, not worth a watch tbh. Cast was good and even the japanese setting would’ve worked but the movie itself was as funny as the Bible.
    Dirty Dancing 2 is my dirty secret, I absolutely adore it. Romola Garai is good as ever and Diego Luna is soo cute. I almost prefer it to the original one

  7. I haven’t thought of the last of the blonde bombshells in so long but I remember really liking it! I should try to find it. Amazing Grace is a favorite, I think she is so good in it and I am excited to try Glorious 39!

  8. I love, love Glorious 39!!! It also has Charlie Cox, looking astonishingly hot. For a while.

  9. Romola has been in a lot of things which I enjoy but for me her stand out roles are The Hour and Emma. Like Kendra Emma is my least favourite Austen novel and of course the one that was always on the English lit syllabus so I studied it more than once which did not help. I disliked the character, Emma until I watched the version mentioned. Romola made her sympathetic, even after she was so nasty to poor Fran/Miss Bates.
    She always looked fabulous in The Hour, but every costume she wore looked “unworn” as though she had purchased it the day before. Still small quibble. I loved the costumes in Daniel Deronda, my favourite period of fashion. (probably thanks to growing up watching The Pallisers) I thought Glorious 39 started out well but went in some odd and unconvincing directions. Still maybe time for a re watch if I can find it again.
    Will also look out for “I Capture the Castle” as it is so well recommended.
    Cheers
    Janette

  10. Daniel Deronda is eye porn, I Capture the Castle is knitting porn, and Amazing Grace is Ioan Griffud porn.

    Now excuse me, I’m off to look for Glorious 39.

  11. I loved her in Daniel Deronda and Emma! The dresses in both are so breathtaking. Daniel Deronda is one of the reasons why I fell in love with the bustle era.

  12. I’ve seen almost all of them. Guess I’m a not-so-closeted Garai fan. ;) Or just a costume-drama-aholic. That works too.

  13. I’ve been so disappointed with most actors/actresses these days. So when someone comes along who is genuinely talented, I fan them like crazy. I like Garai, she is so personable and warm even in her baddie roles. I love that her emotions are so close to the surface.

  14. I, too, love Romola! She is often the most interesting performer on screen, and it’s always a pleasure to see her turn up in a big budget pic. She has such a wonderful period face (nothing whatsoever to do with menses), in that she looks absolutely right in the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st centuries; Kate Winslet is another one with this ability. Very few “it” girls these days would be considered beauties in centuries past.

  15. Like Kendra and many of the commenters here, I have long been a fan of Romola Garai, and I feel that she is very underrated and underused as an actress. I saw “I Capture the Castle” not long after it came out. I LOVED the movie, then fell in love with the book, too. I became a Romola fan from then on which was pretty early in her career. Thank you for this list because I have not seen many of the movies here, and with the exception of “Emma,” I can’t wait to see them. (I love the Gwyneth Paltrow version of “Emma”!)

    Here’s a factoid I learned recently about “Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights” (which I haven’t yet seen). One of the credited writers was Peter Sagal (host of NPR’s “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me”). His story was set in Cuba and did not have anything to do with “Dirty Dancing.” If I remember correctly, somebody bought the “idea” and then adapted into in a “Dirty Dancing” franchise movie.

    1. I agree completely with Karen that Romola has the look that fits right in with bygone eras. Last month I attended a Jane Austen Literary Festival. Naturally, some people were in Regency era costumes. There were a few standouts who just had a “look” about them–regardless of the clothes–that marked them out as bygone beauties.

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