The Heart of Me

Watchable but unsatisfying period piece, mistakenly listed on Amazon Prime as a current film; actually it's from 2002. Based on novelist Rosamond Lehmann's The Echoing Grove, which in turn was based on Lehmann's nine-year affair with poet Cecil Day-Lewis (father of Daniel). IRL Day-Lewis dumped both Lehmann and his wife and took up with actress Jill Balcon (mother of Daniel), which might've made a more interesting movie.

On-the-nose casting of Olivia Williams as the straitlaced, conventional sister and Helena Bonham-Carter as the unstable, bohemian sister ensures the best possible outcome for the creaky plot. Nice to see Elinor Bron (Dudley's Moore's unrequited crush in the original Bedazzled) again as the sisters' interfering mother. Paul Bettany does his best with the thankless role of the sisters' wavering husband/lover; the fact that he's so easily bamboozled by his mother-in-law suggests that Lehmann came away from all this with a poor opinion of C. Day-Lewis, which certainly seems understandable.

this is the second time that i have seen this movie and it definitely lives up to repeated viewings. at heart the story maybe about an illicit affair of forbidden love, but in reality it seems much more. It lays bare the consequences of the worst betrayals of trust without apportioning blame. all three characters, Madeleine, Dinah and Ricky, are left unsatisfied and the pain that they feel makes the film challenging viewing - it is simply so sad. what i liked most about the story is its time frame, as we weave through fifteen odd years and see the story, or rather the affair through the different perspective of time - it is such a clever technique because our sympathies never rest- we switch allegiance constantly and recognise that for these three people there could be no happy resolution.

there is so much else to love about this film, i loved the way the large elegant house, appeared to take on the appearance of Madeleine's state of mind - all bright and happy in the beginning and then grey and sterile at the end.

the film does have a fault i would say, though. which is why i have given it 8. i do not like Helena Bonham carters performance. it was partly because both Olivia Williams and Paul Bettany gave such wonderful performances that hers appears forced and insincere. i think that we are meant to like Dinah and see her as colourful and vital - but i didn't believe in her portrayal. she is remarkable at expressing anguish and truly has a beautiful voice when reciting Blake, but i found her garish costumes and brazen comments, unconvincing and unnatural. she grated on me because i really needed to believe that this woman was worthy of Ricky's obsessional love and i didn't. having said that i still recommend this movie, if only really because of its deep and intelligent exploration of the different types of love.

This film played to a packed audience at the closing night of the London Film Festival last week. The story of an upper class English man falling passionately in love with his wife's sister was so involving I completely forgot myself for the duration of the film (and from what I could see,so did the rest of the audience). It is a flawless film. Intensely moving. The complex characterisations were handled with immense integrity. One of the wonderful things about it was that during the course of the story I both liked and disliked all the characters. By the end it is impossible to judge them, only appreciate what they had gone through. A most wonderful and uplifting film. Paul Bettany is a discovery. An actor of immense subtlety who is not afraid to play a character who appears simply weak on the surface but is actually very complex. A very detailed and brave performance. Olivia Williams is transformed by the character. She plays Madeline, a woman who lives by the strict rules of her class. No emotion is allowed to get in the way of how this class organises their lives and Madeline respects that. When we see her years later in life, Williams makes us utterly believe the immense changes that she has endured. Madeline must forgive her sister Dinah for her betrayal. This seems impossible given what Madeline has endured at the hands of her sister, yet Williams makes us believe in that forgiveness. This was a great lesson to me. To see how you must move on in your life. Helena Bonham Carter is more vulnerable, sensitive and outrageous than I have ever seen her. Her character is on a knife edge. She falls passionately in love with her brother- in- law and from that moment on the film takes you on an emotional roller-coaster ride that I still can't get out of my mind. The film also has one of the best scores I've heard in ages - romantic and tuneful without being slushy or sentimental. It's also a ravishing looking film (maybe that's why I cant get it out of my mind) and yet the powerful images never interfere with the story but add to it all the time. Real cinema.

A movie full of dramatic irony and beauty. I love Helena Bonham Carter and Paul Bettany. On screen, the characters are so believable that I forget that I am watching a movie. I'm transported to this world of war and snobbery, kite flying and poetry. And every twist in the plot basically rips my heart out or sends it soaring. It's so different from any other romance film that I've ever seen. The premise is familiar, but it's beautifully done. Definitely worth seeing. Keep a box of tissues nearby. This movie made me want to read more William Blake. Watch it, and you'll see why. Seriously. It is a film that grips the heart, wraps up the senses, and causes emotions to boil. Despite the poetry in the film, it is mainly a movie of action, of eyes, beautiful, intense eyes. See this movie.

I was fortunate enough to see this film at the Toronto Film Festival and talk briefly with the Director afterwards.

"The Heart of Me" is a period piece set in London during the 1930s and 40s. It is a European-style film that takes the time to give exposition and background to the characters. It builds slowly and chooses substance over style. The mood is somber and much of the lighting and colour scheme reflects this in a similar manner to the Crow.

It is a drama with a few moments of levity. The three main leads are excellent. Helena Bonham Carter and Olivia Williams play sisters. Helena's character begins to fall in love with her brother-in-law played by Paul Bettany and they have an affair.

I was pleasantly surprised by Paul's acting. I've only seen him before in "A Knight's Tale" and "A Beautiful Mind" where he has played light-hearted best friend characters. His performance here was understated, subdued, and a change of pace from what I had previously seen. I didn't think he was capable of going head to head with Helena but he was.

If you like Merchant and Ivory films, then I think you would like this. It has the same feel as "Howard's End" and "Remains of the Day".