In our modern world, love and cynicism often seem to dance in a delicate balance. In an age where skepticism frequently overshadows sincerity, it’s easy to question the existence of love stories that transcend either the commonplace or the schmaltzy. We are bombarded with tales of fleeting romances, broken relationships, and the harsh realities of human connections, making it hard to believe — at least according to art’s assertions — that true, enduring love still exists. Amidst this sea of doubt, stories like that of Adrianne & the Castle emerge as surprising curios. The film, which chronicles the tale of a man so deeply in love with his wife that he turned his home into a castle dedicated to her every artistic whim, challenges jaded perspectives and invites viewers to reconsider the possibility of timeless, unwavering devotion. It reminds that perhaps, even in our most cynical moments, extraordinary love can still be found.
Directed by Shannon Walsh, Adrianne & the Castle tells the story of Adrianne Blue Wakefield St. George and her husband, Alan St. George. She, a flamboyant and self-proclaimed artist, was a woman of immense presence and creativity. Their love story, spanning over three decades, is here captured through a blend of archival footage, interviews, and reenactments, revealing a couple who lived life on their own extravagant terms. The titular castle, Havencrest, located on the Mississippi River in northern Illinois, is a testament to their shared dreams and Alan’s undying fidelity to his wife, who passed away nearly 20 years ago.
Walsh’s film charts Adrianne’s vibrant personality and impact on those around her. Known for her flamboyant fashion and larger-than-life persona, Adrianne was a muse to Alan, and also to herself. The couple’s life was filled with creativity, from the narrative films Adrianne made to the elaborate parties hosted at their castle. But despite the outward glamour, the film also seeks to uncover deeper layers of their relationship, and particularly the inevitable grief that followed Adrianne’s passing. It’s not only rich emotion that marks Adrianne and the Castle, however, but Walsh’s means of conveying it: it’s hard to imagine a more moving declaration that a scene where Alan oversees a reenactment of their first conversation, nitpicking the tone and head movement of the actress portraying Adrianne, ripples of profound feeling stirring his visage.
Alan, who now preserves Adrianne’s legacy through Havencrest Castle, is portrayed as a devoted husband struggling to find meaning without his partner. The documentary explores remembrance as grief’s chief ingredient, and utilizes Adrianne’s extensive journals and home videos to paint a grand portrait of their extraordinary life together. Walsh’s innovative approach includes further reenactments of pivotal moments from the couple’s past, adding not just an element of remove as canvas for a present-day Alan to see his memories sketched upon, but also imbuing the film with a fitting measure of theatricality that mirrors Adrianne’s flair for the dramatic.
Adrianne & the Castle skillfully balances the fantastical elements of the couple’s life with the poignant reality of Alan’s loss. Perhaps predictably given the material, it does occasionally dip into the overly sentimental, but such instances are largely the product of Walsh’s willingness to respectfully let Alan guide the story, and her delicate direction makes sure that whimsy usually wins out over the maudlin. The result is that viewers are not simply told, but guided to an understanding that Alan’s building a castle was not merely an act of devotion — it was an act of preservation. Adrianne and the Castle, then, is an outright rebuff to a world rife with cynicism, and a convincing argument that there are still stories of love in the real world that defy the ordinary and embrace the extraordinary.
DIRECTOR: Shannon Walsh; DISTRIBUTOR: Intuitive Pictures; IN THEATERS: October 25; RUNTIME: 1 hr. 26 min.
Originally published as part of Fantasia Fest 2024 — Dispatch 2.
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