Period piece costume drama that looks very good and features some very good performances. Catherine Sloper (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is the plain and simple daughter of a well-to-do doctor (Albert Finney), whose is raised by her aunt (Maggie Smith) when her mother passes away in childbirth. When a handsome young man (Ben Chaplin) becomes interested in Catherine she is transformed, but her father suspects the young man is only after her money.
The performance by Jennifer Jason Leigh is quite impressive as she shows her characters development throughout the film, the rest of the cast is also by and large quite strong particularly Albert Finney.
Thanks to both the original novel and the adaptation by director Agniezka Holland and her screenwriter the film manages to present a story with a definite edge and characters with layers rather than just a simple costume drama.
Based on the Henry James novel, previously adapted as "The Heiress" by William Wyler in 1949 with Olivia de havilland (Oscar as Best Actress), Montgomery Clift and Ralph Richardson
The performance by Jennifer Jason Leigh is quite impressive as she shows her characters development throughout the film, the rest of the cast is also by and large quite strong particularly Albert Finney.
Thanks to both the original novel and the adaptation by director Agniezka Holland and her screenwriter the film manages to present a story with a definite edge and characters with layers rather than just a simple costume drama.
Based on the Henry James novel, previously adapted as "The Heiress" by William Wyler in 1949 with Olivia de havilland (Oscar as Best Actress), Montgomery Clift and Ralph Richardson