Hilary & Jackie
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Movie Reviews of Hilary & Jackie
Movie Review: This movie made me wanna blow a raspberry.
Summary: 3 Stars
I give this movie three stars mainly because as a classical musician myself, this movie kind of dealt with when I went away to study abroad at Brevard for six weeks. And it's true for almost any musician that most of your days are spent either rehearsing or performing. And I can relate so much to Jackie because I wanted to get serious with my musical talent, but the traveling and touring and publicity took a toll on me. And I wanted to have a normal life like Hilary where she settles down with her husband, haves babies, and raises chickens on a farm. But then Jackie reveals the unthinkable when she wants to sleep with Kiffer. Also this isn't a great movie to watch if you're a young viewer who wanted to know more about Jackie's life as a musician. Some material on here is rather offensive, provocative, and bizarre. I was a little disappointed with the visual effects. She uses the "f" word quite often and there's quite a bit of nudity. Overall I'd still give it three stars because some parts of the movie were fictional or didn't quite make sense. But in some cases, it shows unconditional love as sisters. Hilary was by her side when Jackie had MS and right before her death. In my opinion, the book "Hilary and Jackie" is much better than the movie--mainly because it tells what really went on. I think you better read the book first before watching the movie.
Movie Review: dissapointed
Summary: 2 Stars
for years I have been using Amazon for books and videos and have never beem dissapointed but this time I was.
The DVD was advertised as only being used once. That gives the impression that it was in perfect con dition when actually it was covered with scratches and the case was split around the edges.
I only give it two stars because it at least did arrive on time.
Ray Hartland
Movie Review: This film is a historical farce and should not be associated with Jacqueline du Pré in any way
Summary: 1 Stars
There is a certain school of thought which holds that biopics have no obligations to historical accuracy -- that this is the exclusive province of documentaries or books. I happen to disagree. There are plenty of documentaries that "dramatize" real-life events in the form of dialogue, and many Hollywood films (e.g. _Pollock_, or _My Left Foot_) which were made with concern for accuracy and respect for the memories of specific historical events or characters. If a movie uses real-life names, locations, etc, then misinformation would be malicious that infect the perceptions of mass audiences who see (and for the most part believe) them. A movie that denies the Holocaust or tramples over the memories of war veterans cannot be said to be ideologically unmotivated, but still more callous is such misinformation that is made for purely monetary reasons.
_Hilary and Jackie_, a film dramatization of the life of English cello prodigy Jacqueline du Pré, is one of these. It presents a very heterodox portrayal of Jacqueline's overall character, and has been denounced by her friends and colleagues who knew her throghout her life (Barenboim, Rostropovich, et al) as a complete distortion of the Jacqueline they knew. For e.g., she is remembered by her students and colleagues as being emotionally vibrant with an impassioned love of her craft, while in the film she is portrayed as an insufferable bunch of neuroses who despised her cello -- it having a negative influence on her self-esteem. She is depicted making an indulgent demand to have a sexual relationship with Finzi, her brother-in-law. Her sister Hilary (the apparent heroine of the story), ever selfless, obliges for the benefit of her apparently disturbed sister. The movie ends with Hilary at Jackie's side during her death throes even though (it is made clear) Jackie never did anything for Hilary in her life. If you take the movie's account, it was clearly more than Jackie deserved.
The account here generally follows "A Genius in the Family", the controversial memoir written by Jacqueline's siblings. But her siblings would be less reliable on most points than her colleagues who spent a larger amount of time with her (e.g. at her death when she chose to surround herself with her friends instead, contra the events in this film). That is to say nothing of the fact that the two sisters weren't on speaking terms for much of their life (though Hilary claims there was a reconciliation before Jacqueline's death). Clare Finzi, Hilary's daughter, wrote and contested the film account of events as a "gross misinterpretation, which I cannot let go unchallenged." She was referring to the actual events between her father and aunt, but the errors of omission are even significant, and at the same time worse. The film depicts Jacqueline as being unsympathetic, ignoring the aspects of her personality that made so many sympathize with her. Nothing here reminds one of the flamboyant cellist that is extensively recorded in Nupen's excellent documentaries _Remembering Jacqueline du Prée_ and _Jacqueline du Pré in Portrait_.
More importantly, the film is guilty of irresponsible revisionism. Biopics don't have to be historically accurate to the letter, just the general spirit of the characters. But as so little is substantiated about the specific events of Jacqueline du Pré's personal life as presented here, this is probably a movie that wasn't supposed to be made in the first place. W. K. Clifford famously said that if we cannot ascertain the grounds for a belief, we have no business in believing it. I would add that we have even less business in popularizing heterodox theses to a mass audience without compelling evidence -- something this film lacks. The director Anand Tucker admitted to not caring about such accuracy; he claimed that "it [truth] doesn't exist" because of alternate viewpoints. (One wonders what he would have made of Holocaust denial.) The action of popularizing an extremely tendentious and dubious memoir of Jacqueline's life to audiences who are mostly unfamiliar with her is a unprovoked act of slander -- a base and callous smear against her memory.
The above point is something missed by the critics who defend _Hilary and Jackie_ as portraying "another side" to Jacqueline's personality or offering a corrective to "official" documentaries or biographies. To the majority who watch the movie unreflectingly, there is only one "side" shown. That gets me back to the core of what I dislike about this film: its historical irresponsibility. Jacqueline du Pré obviously achieved much and suffered much in her life, and whether you agree with this film or not, it isn't a constructive tribute to her life's work as an artist and teacher. Integrity demands us to treat unsupported claims with caution, not proselytize them to an unwary audience. Jacqueline du Pré was a great cellist who contributed much to the art was well liked by her colleagues and acquaintances. Her pedagogical legacy survives in the generation of cellists who studied under her tutelage. If she is to be remembered, it should be for that and not the dubious details of her sex life as "played out" and vulgarized in sensationalist media.
One would do better to peruse the biographies of Jacqueline du Pré by Carol Easton, Elizabeth Wilson and, yes, the du Pré siblings (if you read between the lines). Or better yet, listen to her music and watch the documentaries of her which contain clips of her life and performances. The latter were directed by Christopher Nupen who, unlike Tucker, actually knew and cared about his subject matter. For if even a fraction of the money the BBC and the Arts Council gave to _Hilary and Jackie_ were diverted to Nupen's program (which they, instead, rejected), great gains would have been made; gains to music, as well as to our conscience.
Movie Review: Incongruous Logic = terrible direction
Summary: 1 Stars
I watched this movie up until Hillary, who appears in every way intelligent, decides that the demand of her sister, who, after running naked into the woods, is found shivering and out of her mind, should be allowed to have sex with Hillary's husband! The reason? Because she needs to know somebody "LOVES" her???? I thought the idea that sex = love was something most adults realized was not necesarilly true about the time they found out what the word "prostitution" means.
I understand the musical aficionados have their own bone to pick, but I found the incongruous logic that would allow an emotional lunatic (which Jackie certainly was at the point of adultery) to 'have her way' with Hillary's husband (with Hillary's blessing) was to allow the lunatic to 'run the asylum' because the emotionally damaged sister requests it to be too much to swallow, and i shut the movie off.
Movie Review: Gravely disappointing
Summary: 1 Stars
I just didn't buy the premise of this movie, painting Hilary as long-suffering and Jackie as capricious. There was very little indication of what made her the great musician that she was. The whole family was a little sick, but I think Hilary was the really certifiable one. I have always loved Emily Watson, but this performance was not among her best. The mimed cello playing was unconvincing. The fox-like Rachel Griffiths had some moving scenes, but this seemed like a self-serving attempt of an ordinary soul to "set the record straight" about her brilliant sister. The movie also suffered from inept concert sequences and the usual misguided cinematic attempts to portray the life of classical musicians. The whole thing left a profoundly sour taste in my mouth. Why not look at a video of Du Pre performing to cleanse the palate?