SFBR Affinity DVD Review

The San Francisco Bay Reporter reviews the DVD of Affinity:

Victorian desires

Published 03/26/2009
by David Lamble

With its spooky take on desire and superstition among the Victorians, Affinity, based on Sarah Waters' 1999 novel. was the popular opening-night film at the 2008 SF LGBT Film Festival. Fans of the women-behind-bars genre will enjoy the plight of a well-intentioned if gullible upper-class young woman, just recovering from the death of an especially domineering father. Margaret (Anna Madely) decides to indulge her passion for "good works" by visiting a female medium, Selina (Zoe Tapper), imprisoned after a seance backfired, resulting in the death of another young woman. As Margaret battles her growing infatuation with Selina, she comes face-to-face with the nightmarish rules and sinister guards at Millbank, a women's prison worthy of Dickens.

Director Tim Fywell mixes passionate performances (especially from Tapper) with Masterpiece Theatre production values in a scary period piece with a hair-raising twist ending.

Bonus features: an extra scene, plus production interviews, including one with novelist Sarah Waters.

Original review here.