The Girl in the Book: Emily VanCamp shines in Indie Drama

Photo courtesy of Lolamaas Films, LLC

Emily VanCamp stole our hearts in Everwood and took the world by storm in the dearly departed Revenge. She takes the world by storm once more in the crazy world that is book publishing in The Girl in the Book.

Written and directed by Marya Cohn, VanCamp leads a cast that includes Michael Nyqvist, David Call, Michael Cristofer, Talia Balsam and Ana Mulvoy-Ten. Produced by Varient Pictures in association with Busted Buggy Entertainment, Myriad Pictures joined forces with Freestyle Releasing and Freestyle Digital Media for a limited theatrical release and Video on Demand launch this past December.

It’s a deeply personal film for Cohn, who writes on the film’s website that VanCamp’s character, Alice Harvey, is an assistant book editor and writer who “reclaims her body, her voice, and ultimately her power.” It’s a message that will resonate with so many viewers who stumble upon the movie because of VanCamp or because they just like to see the behind-the-scenes of movies set in the book industry. Cohn wants to offer hope to those viewers who may have had a similar incident to that of Harvey.

Harvey is assigned by her company to handle the re-release of Waking Eyes by Milan Daneker (Nyqvist). Unfortunately for her, this brings back bad memories as evidenced by the flashbacks to her as as a teenager (Mulvoy-Ten). It gets to a point in which she can’t work with him, cheats on her boyfriend, but in the end, she starts to write again.

The film alternates between past and present, which makes for some interesting storytelling but unless one pays attention from the get-go, it can be rather confusing to keep with the narrative. For a for a first feature-length film from Cohn, it’s a great showing and leaves you wanting to know want Cohn will do next.

Danielle Solzman

Danielle Solzman is native of Louisville, KY, and holds a BA in Public Relations from Northern Kentucky University and a MA in Media Communications from Webster University. She roots for her beloved Kentucky Wildcats, St. Louis Cardinals, Indianapolis Colts, and Boston Celtics. Living less than a mile away from Wrigley Field in Chicago, she is an active reader (sports/entertainment/history/biographies/select fiction) and involved with the Chicago improv scene. She also sees many movies and reviews them. She has previously written for Redbird Rants, Wildcat Blue Nation, and Hidden Remote/Flicksided. From April 2016 through May 2017, her film reviews can be found on Creators.

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