I first came upon Loving Annabelle at AfterEllen.com (your ultimate guide to everything lesbian in media). The story seemed pretty tense: an affair between Catholic girl boarding school student and her teacher; however, I was not much interested in the subject matter. What made all the difference was that the site gave a raving review of an unconventional storyline and acting as well as the cultural reference to Madchen in Uniform. I checked out the trailer (which is right there along with the review) and got hooked up immediately.

17-year-old senator’s daughter Annabelle (Erin Kelly) arrives at an all-girl Catholic boarding school after being expelled from two previous high schools and immediately grabs everyone’s attention by her no-nonsense attitude. She correctly interprets sexual sub-context of Rilke’s poem, ignores the dress code and no-smoking rule, and in a “I never” game admits to having sex with a girl.

English teacher Simone (Diane Gaidry) has spent half of her life in this school, first as a student, then as a teacher. The principal of the school is her very own aunt, whose character suggests that in her younger years Simone was just as rebellious as Annabelle (though one would never be able to tell just by looking at adult Simone). Simone is intrigued by Annabelle’s maturity and boldness; Annabelle is intrigued by Simone, though quite honestly I don’t know why.

From day one Annabelle’s been after Simone, challenging her to let go of the past, which she so smartly concluded had been with a woman. Simone is fighting the sexual attraction to Annabelle and the moral dilemma of the student-teacher relationship; though she’s not in a very least bothered by the Catholic side of the background.

Loving Annabelle has been directed by Katherine Brooks, a pro when it comes to reality television with a seven-year history with MTV shows, like “The Ousbornes”, “The Newlyweds”, “Simple Life” (yes, the Simple Life), and the whole line of the “Real World” seasons. She’d been work-shopping with Erin Kelly for four years, which is probably why the young actress outacted Diane Gaidry in every single scene. Though it’s not much of a hard job to do: Simone just blank stares all through the storyline, there is not much difference in her character when she’s with her boyfriend or teaching a class or is being seduced by Annabelle. That and some plotlines make the initial stage of the romance hard-to-believe in. However Brooks succeeded in making a film with more than just a kiss and a suggestion for passion while the camera is fading away. The audience gets immediately involved with Annabelle’s predatory ways.

I have to say that the movie itself is nothing compared to the women behind it. Katherine Brooks has done an amazing job with this movie and she should get most of the praise. Then the star is born: Erin Kelly was fabulous for the role (however according to Brooks, Erin is the exact opposite of Annabelle (I would’ve never thought that!). Kelly truly makes the movie a treat. And quite honestly, though I was skeptical about the sincerity of Simone-Annabelle so-called “love”, eventually I gave in to it. So, I guess that’s an extra point to Brooks.

Now the ending kind of leaves everyone overwhelmed. I’d have to say that I was ready for what’s been coming, I just couldn’t believe the time was up: 76 minutes is ridiculously nothing compared to the story’s scale. I felt like I’d been teased into something and then left half-way through. Whatever it is, it sure made the trick and I can’t wait for the DVD to see it again.

I saw the movie at the Finnish Gay & Lesbian film festival Vinokino in Helsinki. So far the movie has been shown only at festivals, but it will be released on DVD on December 12 (US and Canada only) and later in 2007 in Europe. The DVD will have an alternative ending. Brooks had been struggling with being honest to her audience and she made a realistic ending, however if the world was somewhere over the rainbow, then there is an ending for that on DVD.


Recommended:
Yes

Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age