A review of Chalet Girl
By Anna Pearce
Warwick university
CrossDay Intern.
How very refreshing it was to go to the cinema and finally see a down-to-earth, genuinely witty romantic comedy, that addresses romance, heartbreak and family tragedy frankly, but also with some hope. Chalet Girl treats life with a twinkle in its eye, in the astoundingly beautiful setting of St. Anton – as a girl that’s never skied in her life, I may yet have to give it a shot. And therein lies another powerful weapon in Chalet Girl’s armoury – it takes the affluent world of skiing, luxury chalets and champagne and turns it on its head through the central character of Kim (played with sensitivity and spark by the excellent Felicity Jones), who, before her plunge into the world of the Chalet Girl, worked full-time in one of London’s ubiquitous fried chicken establishments having abandoned (for reasons you shall all find out) her blossoming career as a pro-skateboarder. What ensues is both hilarious, and in many ways, inspiring, with brilliant performances from a fantastic cast. I was surprised and warmed by the fact that always remains grounded firmly in reality, most powerfully through Kim’s phone-calls home to her father William (Bill Bailey), who is eating frozen lasagne in a morose flat in Fulham, missing his daughter increasingly as she begins to find a place for herself in the unlikely setting of a ski resort. I left the cinema feeling warmed, but uplifted, since Kim alters the path of her life in a fashion that keeps its feet firmly on the ground.
Chalet Girl on Set 