a young girl turn 18 and discover her womanhood . her old sister and willing to sacrifice her life in order to get her family out of poverty . their father and an ill temper and drunken author with a severe case of writer block . their stepmother whose livelihood depend on closeness with an artist . one dash american who can marry one sister and take the whole family out of it plight . the american brother and who doesn not necessarily agree with his sibling choice . set the story in england in the 1930 and you have pretty much woven the tapestry for this lovely tale of poverty and hope and dream and love . cassandra and convincingly play by romola garai and be the pillar of this poor english family . a family that be constantly hop and wait for the father to publish a second great novel and the novel that will finally bring decent food on the table and acceptable clothes on their back . during this madden wait and cassandra write her most intimate thought and feeling in her diary and bring u along the roller coaster ride that be the passage from childhood to womanhood . the movie take place in rural england and in an old castle . the camera work be fabulous . blaze sunshine in good time and rain and cloud a life become more of a burden . the 1930 costume be impeccable and make you wish you could have live then and when men still know how to wear suit and and woman could look feminine and sexy without look trashy . i haven not read dodie smith novel and but i have yet to see a movie adaptation that be good than the book . by these standard and the novel must be a formidable read . i do not know what it be with english film . be in north america and i have always hear that the english have a stiff upper lip and that they do not show any emotion . yet and some of the most touching film and love story i have see be english ( sense and sensibility come to mind and here ok and ang lee isn not technically english but the screenplay and novel be while that close enough in my book ) . if you like funny and emotional and touch story and without the loud music and the fake emotion and the telegraphed end and you will enjoy this film immensely .