Photographing Fairies

Gaining notoriety as a "sleeper", the oddball Photographing Fairies, based on the cult novel by Steve Szilagyi, offers an adult flipside to the earlier popular children's hit Fairy Tale (VL-3/98). Inspired by the true story of two little girls who photographed fairies in their garden in 1917, attracting the attention of spiritualist seeker Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, among others, this fictional take-off evolves around the tragic life of Charles Castle (Toby Stephens). After losing his new bride in a crevasse while mountain hiking, the numbed and cynical Castle sets up shop as a photographer who retouches family photos for grieving parents who've lost their sons in WWI. When he's approached by Bea Templeton (Frances Barber) with an extraordinary photograph of her daughter playing with fairies, the skeptical Castle first derisively dismisses the photo as a hoax, but later becomes convinced it's authentic. Traveling to the Templeton family home with his assistant and a whole studio's worth of equipment, Castle sets about the daunting task of photographing fairies while coping with the Templetons: the God-fearing Reverend (Ben Kingsley), the precocious daughters and a flirtatious nanny (Emily Woof). A compelling portrait of a man's obsessive attempts to reconnect with a lost one, Photographing Fairies sports excellent cinematography, strong performances, and a whole host of anatomically correct fairies (these are not elfin Disney types). Well worth the watch. Recommended. (R. Pitman)