This is a movie that gets worse the longer it goes on. It's a classic example of a good story that is just terribly told. I'm not a paid up member of the Judi Dench Love Club (happen to think she is overrated as an actor - limited range and always seems to be 'acting'), but here she is completely wasted. So many moments of her looking pensively into the distance to convey...what? Bittersweet memories? And it was just inconceivable that the Young Joan Stanley would keep getting sucked in by an obvious slime bag. The drawn romances just turned this into a dreary soap opera. There's no real drama. No tension. Best avoid it.
