Washington Square
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Movie Reviews of Washington Square
Movie Review: Better than I expected
Summary: 4 Stars
Any filmmaker taking on a James adaptation MUST make casting his primary concern since all of James' works are character driven. This film was partially successful.
Jennifer Jason-Leigh's interpretation of Catherin Sloper was interesting to me but I found the characterisation taken to jarring extremes. Another review declared at times she appeared so socially backward as to be retarded and I agree with him. Thus it was more jarring to see her one moment squirming and tongue-tied before Townsend, the next moment smoothly inviting him to play piano at her home. I try to refrain from age-attacking actresses but I do feel she was a little too old for the role as well.
Ben Chaplin is gorgeous but I found Townsend unsympathetic in the film. Townsend's character is supposed to retain a certain sympathy and he just couldn't do it.
Finney and Smith were both wonderful in their roles. Finney's vindictive unforgiving parenting of Catherine is very true in my mind. He is brutal, at times violently indifferent, yet it is apparent at times he is reaching for some common thread of understanding with the daughter he resents and despises. His ultimate hypocrisy also sets Catherine free of any more fortun-hunting prospects as well as depriving the Slope dynasty of any hope of continuation. He is just self-destructive enough to do it and be believable.
The costumes and production values of this film were beautiful but the cinematography was just plain weird at moments, with strange camera angles, and the soundtrack is very nice.
In comparison to "The Heiress" (starring Olivia de Haviland) I think "Washington Square offered certain pros and cons. I preferred WS's faithfulness to the story, which presents a more quiet triumph on Catherine's part as opposed to TH's more dramatic resolution. I DO feel deHaviland is much more believable in the starring role. At the same time, I liked WS because I felt it was just more Jamesian. Both have their merits.
Movie Review: Very Henry James
Summary: 4 Stars
Henry James' WASHINGTON SQUARE is well served in this solid film whose screenplay was adapted by Carol Doyle and has been directed with secure wisdom of James' style by Polish director Agnieszka Holland )'Europa, Europa', 'Red', 'Blue', 'Copying Beethoven', etc). The musical score is in the capable hands of Jan AP Kaczmarek and the Director of Photography is Jerzy Zielinski, and with all these elements in place, the last ingredient in making this a successful adaptation of a Henry James novel is the cast.
Fortunately the assembled cast matches the above credentials. Albert Finney is superb as the wealthy Dr. Austin Sloper who hoards his money in his mansion on Washington Square and whose overprotective rule of his less than attractive daughter Catherine (Jennifer Jason Leigh) - who is also under the influence of her overbearing Aunt Lavinia (Maggie Smith, still chewing the scenery as usual but convincing) - has put an impasse to Catherine's infatuation with the handsome but poor Morris Townsend (Ben Chaplin): if Catherine should choose to marry Morris she would be cut off as his heiress. James' models of womanhood are played well by Jennifer Garner as the niece that marries and breeds and her mother Aunt Elizabeth (Judith Ivey, currently wowing audiences in a revival of 'The Glass Menagerie'). Distance, imposed by the disapproving Dr. Sloper in escorting Catherine to Europe for a year, doesn't appear to squelch the passion between Catherine and Morris, but Morris finds work which takes him away from the returned Catherine, only to learn upon return that Catherine will not inherit her father's fortune - a glitch that sadly changes the relationship of what had appeared to be a true love romance. In the end the film follows Henry James' view of the world of his time - a palette for social criticism. Made in 1997, this film holds up very well indeed. Grady Harp, September 10
Movie Review: Very fine piece of acting
Summary: 4 Stars
Jennifer Jason Leigh's performance as Catherine Soper in this film version of Henry James' "Washington Square" is one of the great acting cameos of the 1990s.Cruelly exposed to her father's psychological abuse,we see her undergo agonies of low self-esteem and self-loathing until,in the movie's final stages,the worm turns.It is this transformation at the end of the film that leaves us dwelling upon what has preceded it.In addition to the cold downputting by her father,played convincingly by Albert Finney,Catherine suffers yet again from the exploitative manoeuvres of her aunt and,last but not least,by her supposed "amour",Maurice Townsend,played by Ben Chaplin.His performance rises above its earlier Uriah Heep awfulness as he displays the cold and selfish innermost layers of his heart.In a world where she is constantly treated as a tool of the male sex,Catherine's ultimate response is devastatingly shown at the end.At least she has become her own person but the cost has been high and she will never,we think,be able to open up again to any displays of human warmth.
The recreation of late C19 New York is a feast for the eyes in this production.The house in Washington Square exhibits well the mental tidiness of the times.It's built on a wealthy,large scale but its many spaces reflect the coldness that characterises the running of family life in its big,empty rooms.The costumes,the food,the music: all underlie the strict mores of the genteel set of that time.There is little room here for big warm fires and happy partying and a daughter must do what others decide for her.
This production is every bit as good as the earlier Joan Fontaine/Montgomery Clift version,in black and white.And there is nothing in the earlier version to compare with this brilliant tour de force of Jennifer Jason Leigh.She deserved the highest award in acting for this memorable role.
Movie Review: Thought-provoking look at sincerity and love, and filmed in Baltimore
Summary: 4 Stars
In "Washington Square," Henry James examines the fascinating dynamic of what a handsome, worldly but penniless man might see in a plain rich woman. Henry James, like E.M. Forster, is fascinated with attempts of couples to break out of predictable pairings based on social class and color.
At first the relationship between Catherine Sloper, played by Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Morris Townsend, played by Ben Chaplin, seems sincere and of the theme "love will prevail."
Catherine's controlling father, played by Albert Finney, proves obstinately against their union, and the viewer must decide whether he was right in his assessment of Morris or whether he engineered Morris's eventual cynicism by forcing the lovers into a year apart. The role of Catherine's widowed aunt, Maggie Smith, is implied but not explicit in souring the relationship and could have used a sharper explanation in the screenplay.
At the end the viewer must judge whether Catherine enjoys a real or Pyrrhic victory over her father and Morris, or merely goes into some sort of Zen, above-the-fray state of mind.
Tidbit: "Washington Square" was filmed around Baltimore's Union Square, standing in for New York and Paris as well. During the filming, I saw Maggie Smith poke out of her trailer, parked for a shot near the Pratt Library's main branch. Note also my neighborhood Fells Point, in fact the foot of Ann Street, is used for the disembarkation scene where Catherine and her father return from a year in Europe.
Movie Review: IT twas worth my time
Summary: 4 Stars
The ever so talented Jennifer Jason Leigh does it again, as she successfully portrays a wealthy "homely" girl who falls in love w/a penniless "dashing" gent. The only problem is, I didn't find the actor w/a big snosgh 'dashing' whatsoever. He certainly did well in his acting ability, but come on man~out of all the handsome men in hollywood they had to pick what-his-face?
It was hard to make Jennifer look "plain" in this movie, as make-up artists had to apply lots of white make-up on her face and paint slight reddish rings around her eyes to hide her beauty. The overall movie was okay. I'll stack it in my 'average' movie/dvd pile under the entertainment center.
If your a huge fan of Jennifer Jason Leigh, just buy it. There aren't too many actresses w/her range, intensity, and indepth talent obviously.
BTW she also is supposed to be playing a dim-witted young girl. I'd describe her more as a very sheltered girl in this movie growing up w/a possessive, overbearing, yet protecting father--who also tends to belittle her in certain ways. Her character was pretty goofy at times, but later grows w/much wisdom and even humor and {spoiler alert} gives the gold-digger the boot.