Here's a lively intense film, beautifully acted, gorgeously shot, energetically directed, and yet the whole doesn't quite come together. It's in some senses a period piece that pretty well gets stuck in its period--England in the early 60s, when a lot of smoking and Freudian psychoanalysis were both in their heyday. There are a lot of twists and turns in this drama, each one grimmer and more outrageous than the last, but in the end what you admire are the sensitive and engaging performances of Natasha Richardson and Ian McKellen, both of whom take us into this soap opera of a drama and make us care about their characters. That's more that can be said for the screenplay which would fit comfortably on daytime TV. It's worth watching for the performances, but its not a film you'd recommend to friends.
