Enid

Enid

I managed to catch two made for TV films few days ago.And one of them is Enid,staring Helena Bonham Carter,Matthew Macfadyen and etc.As the title suggests,it is about the life of the famous author Enid Blyton,the darker side.
The film shows  how Enid Blyton gain fame and how she dealt it.While everyone thinks a children book author to be like a sweet women with a smiling face and trays of  cookies in their  hand but Enid proved to be different.Her father left her mother and her sibling and she  at a small age making her to find solace in imagining things and writing it.She marries a well known publisher when she grew up and broke all ties with her family believing her mother was the one who caused her father left them.Her relationship between her husband get more strained as time passes by as she get famous and  loves being with children(fans)  than her husband.The film also depicts that Enid was in fact a bad mother who values her fans than her children .for instance one scene shows Enid inviting  5 children(the famous five club) every month and enjoying joking with them while her two daughters were send upstairs to be with the maid.
Helena Bonham Carter proves that she can play more dramatic roles than queens and weird characters.She managed to portray the emotionless Enid so well.she nailed every scene she appears.She manages to insert innocence and vulnerability into this rude  manipulative character  try to make feel sorry for Enid  but it is really hard to feel so.My favourite scene would be the scene where her estranged brother comes to tell her her mother is dead and the scene where her daughter locks the car door to prevent her mom to send her off to boarding school.Matthew Mcfayden looks perfect for the 1930s man with his large pants.He did a commendable job but it was the child actress  Ramona Marquez playing Imogen steals every scene she is in.She plays almost a non-speaking role but her facial expression  is superb.The scene where she confronts her mother about her dad and the Enid's mother was brilliant.
On the negative points,I found the film is only one dimensional.There is not a single ounce of humanity in Enid and the film focuses only how she is a bad mother instead of showing some positive points about her.

A-