Product Details

• Actors: Zoe Tapper, Anna Madeley, Domini Blythe, Amanda Plummer, Mary Jo Randle
• Directors: Tim Fywell
• Writers: Andrew Davies, Sarah Waters
• Producers: Adrian Bate, Andrew Davies, Bogdan Moncea, Greg Dummett, Gub Neal
• Format: Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: MTV
• DVD Release Date: August 19, 2008
• Run Time: 120 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0018O5WVO
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #48,016 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Affinity, based on the mystery romance novel by Sarah Waters, is a well-done melodrama spun from ghost tales, sexual tension, and female rebellion. Director Tim Fywell, known for his work with Masterpiece Theater and other British television programming, maintains period detail in this story of a modern love quandary between two women in Victorian England. In it, Margaret Prior (Anna Madeley) begins visiting Millbanks, a dreary women’s prison, to combat the malaise she feels following her father’s death. There, she meets famed medium Selina Dawes (Zoe Tapper), imprisoned for her client’s murder that she alleges was committed by Peter Quick, an evil, uncontrollable spirit she channelled. As the two women grow closer, their psychic battles with unknown forces increase congruently to the external and internal conflicts that arise, namely warnings from Margaret’s male suitor, and the prison guards that protest her criminal alliance. The physical beauty of the two actresses greatly enhances the sexual tension implicit to this supernatural fantasy. The story maintains an historical relevance to women’s socio-political issues, as it envisions what women’s prisons looked like during the Industrial Age, and it tackles a subject matter, namely séance, that was of major interest to women during the Victorian era. Dark atmospheres and repeated close-ups of the protagonists’ emotionally fraught faces lend Affinity a severity that is borderline sensationalistic. Overall, Affinity functions as a witchy soap opera suited to ladies wishing for a light spook. --Trinie Dalton

Product Description
Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 08/19/2008 Run time: 94 minutes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting story!, October 9, 2008

By	dcg - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Interesting story! As expected, it is beautifully filmed, the dialogue is convincing and the actresses are wonderfull - like other Sarah Waters stories. The actresses do a wonderful job in displaying love for one another, despite the lack of love scenes between them. I Really enjoyed the twist in this one, very unexpected! I give it a 4 however, because the end was a bit disappointing. I agree with the previous reviewer in that if you like happy endings movies, this one will likely dissapoint. Overall though, I though it was a very good movie and worth a look.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good story but not entertaining enough, December 1, 2008

By	Booklover "LA" (United States) - See all my reviews

*SPOILER ALERT* I'm a big Sarah Waters fan, but Affinity was the one book I could not finish. I hoped, however, that I would be able to get into the movie.

This adaptation provides a great, complex story, and the sets and costumes are top-notch. I had a couple issues with the film, though. For one thing it seemed to tap into the worst of lesbian stereotypes. Yes, we have the evil, controlling butch lesbian, and, even worse, the finale includes a woman who commits suicide because she cannot find happiness. My expectation is that in this day and age a writer will avoid stereotypes and find fresh and original ways of depicting lesbian experience. Furthermore, there appeared to be no chemistry between the two leads. I never got a sense that there was a great passion.

I admire Sarah Waters very much. However, I suspect she writes many of her books by setting up a challenge for herself. That's great, but ultimately she often becomes self-indulgent because she forgets that part of her job is to be entertaining.

2 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible, September 23, 2008

By	shyfunnygal - See all my reviews

This was an awful movie! I am a big fan of Sarah Waters Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith were excellent! This movie was too short, I could not connect to any of the characters, the directing was bad, and it did not give enough of the story! Don't waste your time or money. Get Tipping the Velvet or Fingersmith.