Virginia Woolf’s Night and Day review: Haley Bennett elevates conventional period drama
Virginia Woolf’s 1919 novel Night and Day is one of her lesser-known works, in comparison to Mrs Dalloway or Orlando, and has not been adapted for the big screen before. Considering the film is called Virginia Woolf’s Night and Day, you’d assume it was a loyal adaptation, but it’s actually quite different from the source material.
In this version, Haley Bennett plays Katharine Hilbery, a self-taught astronomer who wishes to be taken seriously by Edwardian society. She dons a male disguise to attend the Royal Astronomical Society and longs to conduct her research at Cambridge University. But her parents (Timothy Spall and Jennifer Saunders) are pressuring her to get married, so she accepts the proposal of her childhood friend William Rodney (Jack Whitehall) to get them off her back. However, she soon develops genuine feelings for Ralph Denham (Elyas M’Barek), who is hired to edit her mother’s manuscript.
In a departure from the novel, screenwriter Justine Waddell makes the exploration of love and marriage the minor storyline and brings Katharine’s desire to have a career as an astronomer to the forefront. In addition, the character of Cyril (Misia Butler), Katharine’s cousin and closest male ally, is a closeted gay man who has his own struggles with fitting into society.
The film’s biggest strength is Bennett’s vibrant and lively performance as the spirited, headstrong trailblazer. Her English accent is fantastic, but we already knew that thanks to Cyrano. She makes Katharine so charming, likeable and cheekily rebellious, and you root for her as she fights to break free from the rules of patriarchal society and be more than a wife or mother. She gives a fantastic speech towards the end that deserves a round of applause!
Lily Allen, who has a few acting roles to her name now, is a solid choice for Mary Datchet. The character has significantly less to do here than in the novel, but she’s cool and edgy and feels quite modern within the period setting. I would have liked to see more of Mary and her work in the suffragette movement. I also thought Whitehall was odd casting for a period piece, but he’s actually perfect as a posh imbecile!
Night and Day, directed by Tina Gharavi, is an inspirational yet conventional and tonally uneven tale. The subplot about Katharine and Ralph’s romance desperately needed more work. However, I really liked Katharine and cared about her fight to have the same level of education and access to science as men.
In cinemas from Friday 19th June