Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- witty
- ornate
- melodramatic
- period drama night
- literary adaptation viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film lavishly directed and performed but tonally uneven, combining period melodrama and social satire around an emotionally difficult protagonist.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Angel colors her world as if it were one of her frothy romances and repeatedly mistakes literary fantasy for social and emotional control.
The film deliberately combines grand romantic feeling with an odd, satirical excess in Angel's behavior and worldview.
Angel rises from her widowed mother's grocery shop to publishing success and an estate, yet her relationships remain marked by aristocratic hierarchy.
Angel's success funds an estate and a visually lavish world whose sets and costumes mirror her romanticized self-image.
Films like Angel, and why
The House of Mirth
lavish period melodrama, romantic obsession, and a self-invented female protagonist
The Age of Innocence
opulent literary romance shaped by class conflict, social performance, and emotional repression
The Duchess
stylized period romance combining theatrical excess, doomed desire, and social satire
Movie Details
- Director
- François Ozon
- Release Date
- 2007-02-17
- Runtime
- 134 min
- Rating
- 5.5 / 10 (147)
Cast
- Romola Garai
- Sam Neill
- Michael Fassbender
- Lucy Russell
- Charlotte Rampling
- Jacqueline Tong
- Janine Duvitski
- Christopher Benjamin
- Jemma Powell
- Simon Woods
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Google Play Movies, YouTube
- Buy
- Google Play Movies, YouTube
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Angel about?
- A flamboyant Edwardian novelist turns her own rise, romance, and social ambition into an extravagant fantasy that reality cannot sustain.
- What is Angel like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Angel as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Angel violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Angel as mild.
- What did critics think of Angel?
- Critics broadly found the film lavishly directed and performed but tonally uneven, combining period melodrama and social satire around an emotionally difficult protagonist.
- Which films are like Angel?
- Films with a similar feel include The House of Mirth, The Age of Innocence, and The Duchess.
- How long is Angel?
- Angel runs 134 minutes.
- Where can I watch Angel?
- In United States, Angel is available to rent or buy from Google Play Movies, YouTube.
