Mrs. Dalloway (1998)

Vanessa Redgrave glows from within as the heroine of this superb adaptation of Virginia Woolf's novel. As Clarissa Dalloway prepares to host a sumptuous party, her mind wanders back to a summer in her youth, when she was courted by an eager young man--a young man whose much older self will come to the very party she's preparing. Mrs. Dalloway moves fluidly between the past and the present, exploring the shifts in perspective and understanding with an unsentimental but graceful eye. What's most stunning is the remarkable interplay between the younger and older actors, who truly seem to be different versions of the same character (the young Clarissa is played by Natascha McElhone). Beautifully directed by Marleen Gorris (Antonia's Line), the movie also features Rupert Graves as a shell-shocked soldier who crosses Clarissa's path. --Bret Fetzer Amazon.com essential video

Best "adaptation" seen in a while

Eileen Atkins screenplay based on the classic modernist novel by Virginia Woolf is about as close as a screenwritter can get to duplicate the tone and dialouge, including following the novel's plot from the start to its interesting conclusion.

Vanessa Redgrave was perfect casting for the older Clarissa Dalloway and the beautiful Natascha McElhone as the young Clarissa, too, a good casting choice.

Virginia Woolf's novel was very controversial at the time of it publication due to its style and structure, writng the novel in a non-linear fashion, breaking away from Realism, and using the thoughts of its character's rather than actual dialouge to move the story along. This book is considered by many scholars to be one of the top ten modernist novels of the 20th century along side James Joyce's "Ulysses and Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain.

All the performances in this film I believe were flawless. In particular Rupert Graves as Septimas Warren Smith, the shell shocked, damaged solider caused by his horrific experiences in WW1. Graves' apparent seemless forward and backward states of momentary lucidity and madness was quite impressive.

The novel and film approach many themes: love, art, the failings of the medical profession and our ignorance of psychology, the pomposity of the English Middle Class, sexuality etc. Not only did Woolf change the structure of the novel but also included then considered anathema subjects simply not talked about and never written...bad taste.

Excellent screenplay, great performances...I could go on and on...so even if you have not read Woolf's novel, see this film.

January 26, 2008

Excellent!

Excellent film - beautiful scenery and wonderful costumes. Easily takes you into the time period (early 20th century London). Touching and profound. Vanessa Redgrave is radiant with a superb supporting cast. A real sense of Virginia Woolf comes through. Extremely fine film on many levels. April 16, 2007

A Classic

What a movie! What a classic! Classic as they come.All should have taken home an Oscar. October 26, 2005

An excellent going away gift...

...for someone you detest, but for whom convention dictates such: Prospective movie heaven transmutes into actual movie hell. By comparison, "My Dinner With Andre" is action-adventure.

Mrs. Clarissa Dalloway (the older, portrayed by Vanessa Redgrave) reminisces (ad nausea, as do others) about past relationships, love affairs (with lesbian overtones), or lack thereof. Between reminiscences, she plans that evening's house party. The reminiscences are interminable flash-backs, flash-forwards and flash-sideways between the cast of characters as young adults and two modern-day threads thirty years later. The film's first 53 minutes contains 41 such flashes, averaging every 1.3 minutes. The total 92 minutes contain 49 such flashes, averaging every 1.88 minutes. (The horror this reviewer experienced, dear reader, in the interests of an accurate review!) Sporadically (sowing more confusion) parallel, irrelevant and unrelated side-flashes occur: Ex-soldier Septimus experiences post-traumatic stress syndrome because of the battlefield death of war-buddy Evans. Sixty minutes and eight side-flashes in, Septimus commits suicide, fortuitously ending these irrelevant detours.

Young Clarissa is portrayed by Natascha McElhone. Peter Walsh, rejected lover from Clarissa's early life, is alternately portrayed by Michael Kitchen (older) and Alan Cox (younger); Richard Dalloway, the rival who Clarissa married, by John Standing (older) and Robert Portal (younger). Summing the time jumps in this flick would give whole new meaning to the title of Carl Claudy's 1933 novel "A Thousand Years A Minute". Moral: When doing 30-year flash-backs, minimize them and avoid character close-ups at all costs! Clarissa is half a head taller than both Peter and Richard in older age, previously being inches shorter, with other attribute disparities. Even sneaky camera angles (including platforms?) don't succeed.

Dialog is mostly trite drivel. Clarissa's voice-overs reach a peak of foppish snobbery and arrogance (shades of "Scarlet Pimpernel") during the big party, where her over-riding thought, amidst all this past love-life havoc, is the house party's success. (Is the film's whole point Clarissa's fundamental shallowness and Peter's great good fortune in inadvertently not marrying her?)

This reviewer has not read the book, but this turkey offers nothing which would motivate such. The DVD's picture is fine, except the presentation is non-anamorphic widescreen, meaning that using a system which assumes anamorphic input (for example a high-end HDTV and compatible DVD player) will likely produce unexpected results! Sound volume tends to be uneven.

December 2, 2004

Completes the Original Novel

I recommend this film as an afterthought to the original novel by Virginia Woolf; it will clarify any confusion and bring an intimacy to Woolf's wordy explanations.

Mrs. Dalloway (Vanessa Redgrave/Natascha McElhone) begins her day on a journey to buy flowers for her party. Along the way she encounters a mysterious man ravaged by the memory of war named Septimus Warren Smith (Rupert Graves) who will become a factor towards the end of her delightful day of contemplation. Clarissa Dalloway meets a man from her past, Peter Walsh (Michael Kitchen/Alan Cox) and memories of her exuberant youth flood her with thoughts as she goes about her day as an English upper crust wife. Added to Clarissa's memories are thoughts of her long lost friend Sally (Sarah Badel/Lena Headley) a young woman who once embraced the immaturity of whims. So that in the end a day of celebration becomes a deeper exploration into life than Mrs. Dalloway could have ever expected.

Virginia Woolf wrote the original novel, "Mrs. Dalloway," in 1925 and she intentionally wanted to stir a contemplated thought process into the art of a novel. She succeeded in that her novel is considered a modern classic and is timeless but extraordinarily complicated. However once read I believe that this film will bring about a closeness to Woolf's original characters and some closure to the reading experience. The actors in this film are all very good with a few standouts like, Redgrave, Graves and McElhone. Thankfully the film stays very close to the original novel and any changes are more of an awakening thought than true alterations. Add "The Hours," (novel/DVD) as an added exploration into Woolf's mind as a writer.
November 26, 2004

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