Magic in the Moonlight (2014)

Eileen Atkins: Aunt Vanessa

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Quotes 

• Aunt Vanessa : The world may or may not be without purpose, but it's not totally without some kind of magic.

• Stanley : The comparison makes me laugh! Olivia is a person of accomplishment and charm. Sophie's a street finagler who makes her way living off one bit of hokum to the next.

  Aunt Vanessa : Well, I don't see how you can compare the two.

  Stanley : Well, don't put ideas into my head!

  Aunt Vanessa : Well, far be it from me!

  Stanley : Of course, she does come from dire circumstances. I mean, it's very easy to be judgmental about people who are born into circumstances less fortunate than one's own.

  Aunt Vanessa : Well, life is harsh. One must do what one must to survive.

  Stanley : Well put. And people do sometimes make the wrong choices, which they regret, even though no serious harm was done.

  Aunt Vanessa : Which of us has not made some blunders in life?

  Stanley : And there is a rather appealing quality about Sophie. Despite her disgusting behaviour.

  Aunt Vanessa : Yes, her smile is rather winning. Of course, it depends how much value you put on the purely physical.

  Stanley : Well, no, I... I, for one, esteem the higher virtues.

  Aunt Vanessa : Hmm... Beauty of the soul...

  Stanley : Although her eyes are rather pleasant to look into. And that she can be amusing, under the right circumstances.

  Aunt Vanessa : Oh, but Olivia is an educated, cultivated woman. One that befits a man of your artistic genius.

  Stanley : Yes, now, my genius must be factored in. On paper, there's really no reason to prefer Sophie to Olivia.

  Aunt Vanessa : Well, I would say the opposite.

  Stanley : ...And so your, your suggestion that I, I be honest with Olivia and tell her that as irrational as it seems, I've fallen in love with, with Sophie - that's a preposterous notion.

  Aunt Vanessa : It's lunacy.

  Stanley : ...Yet I can't help feeling that...

  Aunt Vanessa : ...That you love Sophie. Yes, I understand. You're puzzled and bewildered; because your foolish logic tells you that you should love Olivia.

  Stanley : Foolish logic?

  Aunt Vanessa : And yet, how little that logic means when placed next to Sophie's smile...

  Stanley : What are you saying?

  Aunt Vanessa : ...That the world may or may not be without purpose, but it's not totally without some kind of magic.

  Stanley : ...I have irrational positive feelings for Sophie Baker. It's like witnessing a trick I can't figure out.

• Stanley : I'm beginning to question my own common sense.

  Aunt Vanessa : I've always questioned your common sense.

• Aunt Vanessa : Which of us has not made some blunders in life?