I wanted to love this movie, but it just didn't move me that much. The story in itself is very strong. It's about a group of anthropologists capturing a pygmies couple to England for scientific purposes. They treat the two as if they are not human, but some kind of link between man and ape. It's a painful story of an era in time in which western society thought itself to be superior over other races. The real savages are not the pygmy couple, but those that don't want to accept that they are just as human as themselves. It's also about how science can become dangerous when scientists lose their empathy for the persons they are testing and how that can lead to inhumane situations.
Like I said, it's definitely a strong subject for a movie. And apart from that, the settings are okay, the acting is strong and the dialogues really depict the scientific society of Britain in those days. I still had the feeling that something was missing. Its main character Docter Dudd ( Joseph Fiennes ) is too quickly transforming from heartless scientist to someone with heart for the pygmies couple. His partner in crime - clandestine animal smuggler Elena van den Ende ( Kristin Scott Thomas )- never really gets into the story and she's choosing sides way too quickly. And I think that there are some strange plot twists that just aren't that believable.
At the end, it's a good movie. Maybe not as good as it could've been. But for those with a heart for period pieces with an important message on colonialism in past days, it's good enough.
