The Face of an Angel London Premiere

By Alisa Narbutas

Angel

/ˈeɪndʒ(ə)l/

noun

1. a person of exemplary conduct or virtue.

synonyms: paragon of virtue, saint, gem, treasure, nonpareil;

used in similes or comparisons to refer to a person’s outstanding beauty, qualities, or abilities.

“You sang like an angel”

Just because you have the face of an angel, doesn’t mean you are one.

Inspired by the Amanda Knox case (who was accused of the murder of Meredith Kercher back in 2007) the new piece of Director Michael Winterbottom deals with complicated intense relationships and the loss of a daughter, that can never be fully solved.

The film tells the story of film maker Thomas, played by German Wunderkind Daniel Bruehl, as he tries to chase the story of a murder and it’s main suspect. With the help of Simone Ford (Kate Beckinsale) and other journalists he discovers that the truth is hidden behind blurred speculations and the media’s influence on society.

Based on the novel Angel Face by Barbie Latza Nadeau the film includes a lot of facts about the real Amanda Knox case, but still tries to keep it’s distance using different names and places.

With Cara Delevingne making her film début as Melanie, a close friend of Daniel Bruehl’s character Thomas, she is now stepping one foot off the catwalk and into the film business.

The well picked cast and the controversial story itself, is what makes this film so interesting. But still, as I left the cinema, I felt more confused than before, as the film managed to leave the audience completely in the dark and had no real ending to it.

As the London Film Festival came to a close last Sunday we managed to be part of one last premiere, as we hit the red carpet for the The Face of an Angel premiere on Saturday evening.

When we asked the Mr. Selfridge-actress Sai Benett if she did a lot research on the real Meredith Kercher for the role of Elizabeth she explained, she didn’t want to base Elizabeth’s character completely on Meredith’s because “it’s more inspired…then directly adopted from the story”.

“I didn’t want to look too much into Meredith as a person, I would feel like that would be unfair to her family”

(Sai Benett on Meridith Kercher Research)

Genevieve Gaunt (Jessica alias Amanda Knox) defined Director Winterbottoms working methods (Michael likes to improvise on set) as very “fluid” and “free” as there are “no script super-versions and unobtrusive methods” involved in the film making.

“Its so complicated, that that the more you know, the less you know”

(Genevieve Gaunt on the murder of Meredith Kercher)