Washington Square (1997)

DVD: Washington Square

Washington Square is a remake of The Heiress, which starred Olivia De Havilland and Montgomery Clift in 1949. Amazon.com was the only place I could find this DVD. Jennifer Jason Leigh is superb as the lonely young woman in search of happiness, and Albert Finney is hateful as her overbearing father who does not love her. I enjoy this version just as much as the original. March 17, 2008

Far To Dull... DO NOT BUY!!!

I am a lover of all things period and this movie does have some nice settings and costumes in it, however that is all it has to offer. All the actors do is trip over each other and whisper little to no dialogue of not much consequence. One can barely tell what the story is trying to relate the dialogue is so scant. I am sorry but just having actors stare into the camera is not great drama. I wonder did this movie have a director? But of course, it did, someone had to purposefully make all these mistakes. This was a big disappointment and not even worth renting! April 20, 2007

If you are looking for a happy ending, Don't Watch!

I am from the old-school notion that if you are going to have a romantic movie, the girl should end up with the guy at the end. I don't mind drama, though there was no great meaning from her being alone in the end. This is not a pick me upper movie, and if you feel kinda like an old maid waiting for love, this old maid in the movie never finds love. The ending is horrible! Or maybe I am just too simple to understand some profound meaning of her sitting there all alone, playing her piano. I just don't get it. April 12, 2007

Loved it until I read the book

Honestly, this was one of my favorite films until I read the book, and it brought to light two things that I think the director really messed up on.
1. Catherine Sloper was nowhere near as socially retarded in the book as she was in the movie. In fact, as someone said, in the movie they practically portray her as being borderline mentally challenged. In the books her faults were not as exaggerated, and consisted of her plain looks, dull personality and occasional lack of a witty retort (which happens to all of us save for those annoying few who always have the perfect thing to say). Otherwise I would characterize her, especially in comparison to her flighty aunt and cold-hearted dad, as the only normal one in the house. While everyone else was making the situation with Morris more of a drama than it needed to be, Catherine was taking things as they came and letting them go as they went. She grows from naive girl who adored her callous father to a secure woman.
Also, while in the movie they portrayed her dress sense as evidence of her social ineptitude (the scene where she goes to the party where she meets Morris in that awful fringed thing), in the book it is an admirable eccentricity, and proves that she is not as boring as she seems.
2. While Albert Finney does a great job of capturing Dr. Sloper's callous sarcasm, he doesn't (and again, I think this is the director's fault) really capture the type of psychological game he is playing with his daughter. In the book, Dr. Sloper detachedly views the goings on between his daughter and Morris as a kind of entertainment, a play that he wants to see if he guessed the correct ending to. In return, as Catherine realizes what as asshat her father is (can I say that here?), she begins to play the game with him, telling him when he is near his deathbed that she can't promise she won't marry Morris after he dies (This scene also takes place in the movie, but the way it is acted out you get the sense that Catherine is saying this because she hasn't let Morris go yet - the director hasn't developed the character enough to make the viewer believe she has the intelligence to play her dad's own game).
In terms of praise, the performances by Maggie Smith, Albert Finney and Ben Chaplin are great. To quote another review again, Ben Chaplin really has you wondering what exactly are his character motives (even though deep down you know he wants her money, like the naive Catherine, you continue to want to believe everyone is wrong). I admit I picked up the book in the first place because I wanted to get a better handle on Morris and his intentions! Also, the soundtrack is just gorgeous. January 31, 2007

wonderful film

Washington Square, directed by Agnieszka Holland, is a wonderful film! It is definitely better than the previous film version Heiress in 1940s. This fascinating film is a little different from its original, Henry James's Washington Square. But that doesn't matter much. It has its own merits and attractions. January 11, 2007

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