Jump to content

The Governess: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
delinked date per WP:MOSFILM
 
(80 intermediate revisions by 55 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{short description|1998 film}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2011}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2011}}
{{distinguish|The Governess, or The Little Female Academy}}
{{distinguish|The Governess, or The Little Female Academy}}
{{About||the Chaser known as "The Governess" on [[The Chase (UK game show)|The Chase]]|Anne Hegerty|the Australian television play|The Governess (1958 film)}}
{{Infobox Film
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2011}}
{{Infobox film
| name = The Governess
| name = The Governess
| image = GovernessFilmPoster.jpg
| image = GovernessFilmPoster.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Original poster
| caption = Original poster
| director = [[Sandra Goldbacher]]
| director = [[Sandra Goldbacher]]
| producer = Sarah Curtis<br>Sally Hibbin
| producer = {{Unbulleted list |Sarah Curtis|Sally Hibbin}}
| writer = [[Sandra Goldbacher]]
| writer = Sandra Goldbacher
| narrator =
| starring = {{Plainlist|
* [[Minnie Driver]]
| starring = [[Minnie Driver]]<br>[[Tom Wilkinson (actor)|Tom Wilkinson]]<br>[[Jonathan Rhys Meyers]]
* [[Tom Wilkinson]]
* [[Harriet Walter]]
* [[Florence Hoath]]
* Bruce Myers
* [[Jonathan Rhys Meyers]]
}}
| narrator = <!--[[Minnie Driver]] only used in documentaries-->
| music = [[Edward Shearmur]]
| music = [[Edward Shearmur]]
| cinematography = Ashley Rowe
| cinematography = Ashley Rowe
| editing = Isabelle Lorente
| editing = Isabelle Lorente
| studio = Pandora Cinema<br>[[BBC Films]]<br>Parallax Pictures
| distributor = [[Sony Pictures Classics]]
| distributor = [[Momentum Pictures]]<ref>{{cite web|title=The Governess|work=[[Lumiere (website)|Lumiere]]|access-date=31 March 2021|url=http://lumiere.obs.coe.int/web/film_info/?id=8560}}</ref><br />[[Alliance Films]]<ref>{{cite web|title=The Governess (1998)|work=[[BBFC]]|access-date=31 March 2021|url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-governess-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zmzu0mtk}}</ref>
| released = {{flagicon|United States}} 31 July 1998<br>{{flagicon|UK}} 23 October 1998<br>{{flagicon|Australia}}3 December 1998<br>{{flagicon|New Zealand}}4 February 1999
| released = {{Film date|df=yes|1998|7|31|US|1998|10|23|UK|1998|12|3|Australia|1999|2|4|New Zealand}}
| runtime = 114 minutes
| runtime = 114 minutes
| country = [[United Kingdom]]
| country = [[United Kingdom]]
| language = [[English language|English]]
| language = [[English language|English]]
| budget =
| budget =
| gross = $3,800,509 (US)
| gross = $3.8 million (US)<ref name="BOM">{{Mojo title|governess}}</ref>
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
}}
}}


'''''The Governess''''' is a 1998 [[United Kingdom|British]] [[period piece|period]] [[drama film]] written and directed by [[Sandra Goldbacher]]. The [[screenplay]] focuses on a young [[Jew]]ish woman of [[Sephardic]] background, who reinvents herself as a [[gentile]] [[governess]] when she is forced to find work to support her family.
'''''The Governess''''' is a 1998 [[United Kingdom|British]] [[period piece|period]] [[drama film]] written and directed by [[Sandra Goldbacher]]. The [[screenplay]] focuses on a young [[Jew]]ish woman of [[Sephardic]] background, who reinvents herself as a [[gentile]] [[governess]] when she is forced to find work to support her family.


==Plot synopsis==
== Plot ==
Set in the 1830s, the story centers on Rosina da Silva, the sophisticated eldest daughter of a wealthy Jewish Italian family living in a small enclave of Sephardic [[London Jews]]. When her father is murdered on the street and leaves behind numerous debts, she forsakes an arranged marriage to an older suitor, transforms herself into Mary Blackchurch - a [[Protestant]] of partial [[Italy|Italian]] descent - in order to conceal her heritage, and accepts a position as a governess for a [[Scotland|Scottish]] family living on the [[Skye|Isle of Skye]] in the [[Hebrides]]. Patriarch Charles Cavendish is a man of science intent on solving the problem of retaining a [[photography|photographic]] image on paper, while his pretentious wife flounders in a sea of [[Boredom|ennui]]. Their young daughter Clementina initially resists Mary's discipline, but eventually finds in her a friend and companion.
Set in the 1830s, the story centres on Rosina da Silva, the sophisticated eldest daughter of a wealthy Jewish family living in a small enclave of Sephardic [[London Jews]]. When her father is murdered on the street and leaves behind numerous debts, she refuses an arranged marriage to an older suitor, declaring that she will work to support her family, even if she has to take to the stage like her aunt, who is a renowned singer. She decides to use her classical education and advertise her services as a governess, transforming herself into Mary Blackchurch - a [[Protestant]] of partial [[Italy|Italian]] descent - in order to conceal her heritage. She quickly accepts a position as governess for a [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[landed gentry]] family living on the [[Skye|Isle of Skye]] in the [[Hebrides]]. Patriarch Charles Cavendish is a man of science intent on solving the problem of retaining a [[photography|photographic]] image on paper, while his pretentious wife flounders in a sea of [[Boredom|ennui]]. Their young daughter Clementina initially resists Mary's discipline, but eventually finds in her a friend and companion.


Mary, well-educated and unusually curious in an era when a woman's primary focus is keeping house and attending to the needs of her family, surprises Charles with the depth of her interest and ability and becomes his assistant. He is delighted to find a kindred spirit in his isolation, and the admiration she feels soon turns to passion that he reciprocates. After she accidentally discovers how to fix the prints with salt water their excitement spills over into making love for the first time. But he becomes increasingly consumed with the race to publish their new process, while she is captivated by the beauty of the photographs they create.
Mary, well-educated and unusually curious in an era when a woman's primary focus is meant to be keeping house and attending to the needs of her family, surprises Charles with the depth of her interest and ability and becomes his assistant. He is delighted to find a kindred spirit in his isolation, and the admiration she feels soon turns to passion that he reciprocates. While secretly observing [[Passover]] in her room, she spills salt water onto one of Charles' prints, accidentally discovering a technique that preserves the image. The next morning she rushes to the laboratory to tell Charles, and their excitement spills over into making love for the first time. But he becomes increasingly consumed with the race to publish their new process, while she is captivated by the beauty of the photographs they create.


Complications ensue when Henry Cavendish returns home after being expelled from [[Oxford University]] for smoking [[opium]] and being caught with a prostitute, and he becomes obsessed with Mary. While searching through her belongings, he uncovers evidence of her true background, and although he confesses to her he knows about her past, he promises to keep it their secret.
Complications ensue when the Cavendishs' son Henry returns home after being expelled from the [[University of Oxford]] for smoking [[opium]] and being caught with a prostitute, and he becomes obsessed with Mary. While searching through her belongings, he uncovers evidence of her true background, and although he confesses to her that he knows about her past, he promises to keep it secret. But eventually Henry tells Charles that he is in love with Mary, and Charles ridicules his affection and disparagingly remarks that Mary is "practically a [[demimondaine]]", refusing his consent and further alienating his son.


One day she leaves a gift for Charles, a nude photograph that she took of him asleep in the laboratory after lovemaking, and he begins to shun her. When a fellow scientist visits he claims sole credit for the technique she discovered. Angered by his rebuff and betrayal, Mary at first takes it out on Henry, but then decides to leave the island and return to [[London]]. On her way out, conspicuously dressed as a Jewess once more, she presents to Mrs. Cavendish at their dinner table the picture of her naked husband.
One day she leaves a gift for Charles, a nude photograph that she took of him asleep in the laboratory after lovemaking, and he begins to shun her. When a fellow scientist visits, Charles claims sole credit for the technique she discovered. Angered by his rebuff and betrayal, Mary at first takes it out on Henry, but then decides to leave the island and return to London. On her way out, conspicuously dressed as a Jew once more, she presents to Mrs Cavendish at their dinner table the picture of her naked husband.


At home again, she embraces her true identity and becomes a portrait photographer noted for her distinct images of the Jewish people. Her sister announces her next sitter and when Charles appears, she quietly proceeds to take his portrait. When she has finished he asks her if they are done, and she says yes, "quite done," dismissing him. But his portrait remains foremost among the scattering of prints in her studio, as she muses, "I hardly think of those days at all."
Back in London, she embraces her true identity and becomes a portrait photographer noted for her distinct images of the Jewish people. Her sister announces her next sitter and when Charles appears, she quietly proceeds to take his portrait. When she has finished he asks her if they are done, and she says yes, "quite done," dismissing him. She muses to the audience in closing, "I hardly think of those days at all. No, I don't think of those days at all." But his portrait remains foremost among the scattering of prints in her personal studio.


==Production notes==
== Cast ==
* [[Minnie Driver]] as Rosina da Silva / Mary Blackchurch
The film was shot on location at [[Brodick Castle]] in [[North Ayrshire]], [[Wrotham Park]] in [[Hertfordshire]], and London. Interiors were filmed at the [[Pinewood Studios]] in [[Buckinghamshire]].
* [[Tom Wilkinson (actor)|Tom Wilkinson]] as Charles Cavendish
* [[Harriet Walter]] as Mrs. Cavendish
* [[Jonathan Rhys Meyers]] as Henry Cavendish
* [[Florence Hoath]] as Clementina Cavendish


== Production ==
For the [[soundtrack]], composer [[Edward Shearmur]] relied on the [[piano]], [[harp]], [[stringed instrument]]s, ethnic [[flute]]s, [[santour]], [[violin]], and Eastern [[percussion instrument]]s to imitate [[Sephardi Jews|Sephardi]] melodies of the era. Songs were performed in [[Ladino language|Ladino]] by [[Ofra Haza]]. The soundtrack also includes "Standchen," a serenade for violin and piano by [[Franz Schubert]].
The film was shot on location at [[Brodick Castle]] in [[North Ayrshire]], [[Wrotham Park]] in [[Hertfordshire]], and London.<ref name="TCM">{{cite web |title=The Governess |url=https://prod-www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/436331/the-governess#overview |website=[[Turner Classic Movies]] |access-date=10 October 2023}}</ref> Interiors were filmed at the [[Pinewood Studios]] in [[Buckinghamshire]].


For the [[soundtrack]], composer [[Edward Shearmur]] relied on the [[piano]], [[harp]], [[stringed instrument]]s, ethnic [[flute]]s, [[Santoor (Persian instrument)|santour]], [[violin]], and Eastern [[percussion instrument]]s to imitate [[Sephardi Jews|Sephardi]] melodies of the era.<ref name=music>{{cite web |last1=Glorieux |first1=Thomas |title=The Governess |url=http://www.maintitles.net/reviews/the-governess/ |website=www.maintitles.net |access-date=10 October 2023}}</ref> Songs were performed in [[Ladino language|Ladino]] by [[Ofra Haza]]. The soundtrack also includes [[Schwanengesang#Content|Ständchen]], a song from the collection ''Schwanengesang'' by [[Franz Schubert]].<ref name=music/>
==Principal cast==
*[[Minnie Driver]] ..... Rosina da Silva/Mary Blackchurch
*[[Tom Wilkinson (actor)|Tom Wilkinson]] ..... Charles Cavendish
*[[Harriet Walter]] ..... Mrs. Cavendish
*[[Jonathan Rhys Meyers]] ..... Henry Cavendish
*[[Florence Hoath]] ..... Clementina Cavendish


==Critical reception==
== Reception ==
=== Critical response ===
The film debuted at the [[Seattle International Film Festival]] before going into limited release in the US. On its opening weekend it grossed $57,799 in six theaters. Its total box office in the US was $3,719,509.<ref>[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=thegoverness.htm ''The Governess'' at BoxOfficeMojo.com]</ref> The film received positive reception from critics, especially for Driver's performance as Rosina da Silva.
The film debuted at the [[Seattle International Film Festival]] before going into limited release in the US. On its opening weekend it grossed $57,799 in six theaters. Its total box office in the US was $3,719,509.<ref name="BOM"/> The film received positive reception from critics, especially for Driver's performance as Rosina da Silva.


In his review in the ''[[New York Times]]'', Stephen Holden called the film "ravishingly handsome" and added, "''The Governess'' is a wonderful showcase for Ms. Driver . . . If [her] performance is strong, it is less than great, because her face lacks the transparency of expression that would transport us inside her character's mind . . . The movie takes some missteps. Rosina's ability to support her family in luxurious style from her earnings as a governess is implausible. The screenplay includes some glaring lapses into contemporary [[slang]]. And dramatically, the movie peters out in its disappointingly perfunctory final scenes. But [it] still leaves a lasting after-image."<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/library/film/073198gov-film-review.html ''New York Times'' review]</ref>
In his review in ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[Stephen Holden]] called the film "ravishingly handsome" and added, "''The Governess'' is a wonderful showcase for Ms. Driver . . . If [her] performance is strong, it is less than great, because her face lacks the transparency of expression that would transport us inside her character's mind . . . The movie takes some missteps. Rosina's ability to support her family in luxurious style from her earnings as a governess is implausible. The screenplay includes some glaring lapses into contemporary [[slang]]. And dramatically, the movie peters out in its disappointingly perfunctory final scenes. But [it] still leaves a lasting after-image."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/library/film/073198gov-film-review.html |title= Capturing Images and Passion in a Turbulent World |last=Holden |first=Stephen |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=July 31, 1998}}</ref>


In ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'', Ken Eisner called the film "beautifully crafted" and said it "gets high marks for originality and style," then added, "Although first-time helmer Sandra Goldbacher, working from her own script, has come up with a fascinating premise, her follow-through is too scattered in concept and monotonous in execution to be truly rewarding . . . [It] has much to offer the senses . . . but the images are often art-directed to death, with more attention paid to fabrics, textures and colors than to narrative coherence. A little trimming could remove some of the distractions and repetition, but it won't be easy to hide the movie's lack of a solid point or payoff."<ref>[http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117913008.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0 ''Variety'' review]</ref>
In ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'', Ken Eisner called the film "beautifully crafted" and said it "gets high marks for originality and style," then added, "Although first-time helmer Sandra Goldbacher, working from her own script, has come up with a fascinating premise, her follow-through is too scattered in concept and monotonous in execution to be truly rewarding . . . [It] has much to offer the senses . . . but the images are often art-directed to death, with more attention paid to fabrics, textures and colors than to narrative coherence. A little trimming could remove some of the distractions and repetition, but it won't be easy to hide the movie's lack of a solid point or payoff."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Governess |url=https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117913008.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0 |date=June 14, 1998 |last=Eisner |first=Ken |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121020231918/http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117913008?refcatid=31 |archive-date=2012-10-20}}</ref>


In ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'', Owen Gleiberman graded the film C and called it "a have-your-[[kugel]]-and-eat-it-too princess fantasy. Writer-director Sandra Goldbacher glorifies her heroine at every turn, but she also fills the movie with arid pauses, turning it into a claustrophobic study in repression."<ref>[http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,284380,00.html ''Entertainment Weekly'' review]</ref>
In ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'', [[Owen Gleiberman]] graded the film a C and called it "a have-your-[[kugel]]-and-eat-it-too princess fantasy. Writer-director Sandra Goldbacher glorifies her heroine at every turn, but she also fills the movie with arid pauses, turning it into a claustrophobic study in repression."<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,284380,00.html |title=The Governess |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |last=Gleiberman |first=Owen |access-date=20 April 2020 |archive-date=16 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916103923/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,284380,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>


Barbara Shulgasser of the ''[[San Francisco Examiner]]'' observed, "Sandra Goldbacher, writing and directing her first feature, is a sure-handed filmmaker. The movie is a tableau of sensuality. The tactile attractiveness of the photographic images meld with the fire that devours the lovers . . . I found the end of the movie a bit of an anticlimax and sense that Goldbacher just ran out of steam. But it seems a sure bet that she has many more movies ahead of her, all of which I look forward to seeing."<ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/e/a/1998/08/07/WEEKEND10440.dtl ''San Francisco Examiner'' review]</ref>
Barbara Shulgasser of the ''[[San Francisco Examiner]]'' observed, "Sandra Goldbacher, writing and directing her first feature, is a sure-handed filmmaker. The movie is a tableau of sensuality. The tactile attractiveness of the photographic images meld with the fire that devours the lovers . . . I found the end of the movie a bit of an anticlimax and sense that Goldbacher just ran out of steam. But it seems a sure bet that she has many more movies ahead of her, all of which I look forward to seeing."<ref>{{cite news|title= A Jewish woman undercover in Britain |last=Shulgasser |first=Barbara |url= https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/A-Jewish-woman-undercover-in-Britain-3075471.php |date=1998-08-07 |work=[[San Francisco Examiner]]}}</ref>


Ruthe Stein of the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' said, "As Rosina's extraordinary fate unfolds in ''The Governess'', the real wonder becomes how British filmmaker Sandra Goldbacher was able to write and direct such an accomplished, touching and original movie her first time out . . . Rosina is a wonderfully rich role, and Driver gives it everything she has. It's her best work yet."<ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1998/08/07/DD21350.DTL ''San Francisco Chronicle'' review]</ref>
Ruthe Stein of the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' said, "As Rosina's extraordinary fate unfolds in ''The Governess'', the real wonder becomes how British filmmaker Sandra Goldbacher was able to write and direct such an accomplished, touching and original movie her first time out . . . Rosina is a wonderfully rich role, and Driver gives it everything she has. It's her best work yet."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1998/08/07/DD21350.DTL |last=Stein |first=Ruthe |date=August 7, 1998 |title='Governess' Can Take Care of Herself |newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]}}</ref>


Audiences polled by [[CinemaScore]] gave it a grade of B.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=August 7, 1998 |title=Critical Mass |url=https://ew.com/article/1998/08/07/critical-mass-36/ |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |access-date=December 7, 2022 }}</ref>
==Awards and nominations==
Ashley Rowe won the [[Evening Standard British Film Awards|Evening Standard British Film Award]] for Best Technical/Artistic Achievement for his cinematography. Sandra Goldbacher was nominated for the Crystal Globe and won both the Audience Award and Special Prize at the [[Karlovy Vary International Film Festival]].


==References==
=== Accolades ===
Ashley Rowe won the [[Evening Standard British Film Awards|Evening Standard British Film Award]] for Best Technical/Artistic Achievement for his cinematography.<ref>{{cite news |title=Evening Standard British Film Awards 1990-2001 |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/evening-standard-british-film-awards-19902001-7222966.html |access-date=10 October 2023 |work=The Evening Standard |date=10 April 2012}}</ref> Sandra Goldbacher was nominated for the Crystal Globe and won both the Audience Award and Special Prize at the [[Karlovy Vary International Film Festival]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gaydos |first1=Steven |title=Karlovy Vary top honors to 'Streatheart' |url=https://variety.com/1998/film/news/karlovy-vary-top-honors-to-streatheart-1117478372/ |access-date=10 October 2023 |work=Variety |date=1998-07-13}}</ref>
{{reflist}}


==External links==
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
* {{official|http://www.sonypictures.com/classics/governess|The Governess}}
* {{imdb title | id=0120687 | title=The Governess}}
* {{Amg movie|162711|The Governess}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes | id=governess | title=The Governess}}
*{{metacritic film|id=governess|title=The Governess}}


== External links ==
{{CinemaoftheUK}}
* {{official website|https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thegoverness|''The Governess''}} at [[Sony Pictures]]
* {{IMDb title | id=0120687 | title=The Governess}}
* {{AllMovie title|162711|The Governess}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes | id=governess | title=The Governess}}
* {{Metacritic film|title=The Governess}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Governess, The}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Governess, The}}
[[Category:1998 films]]
[[Category:1998 films]]
[[Category:British drama films]]
[[Category:British historical films]]
[[Category:Romantic drama films]]
[[Category:British romantic drama films]]
[[Category:1990s drama films]]
[[Category:1990s historical romance films]]
[[Category:1998 romantic drama films]]
[[Category:Films scored by Edward Shearmur]]
[[Category:Films set in London]]
[[Category:Films set in London]]
[[Category:Films set in the 1830s]]
[[Category:Films set in the 1830s]]
[[Category:English-language films]]
[[Category:Films shot at Pinewood Studios]]
[[Category:Pinewood Studios films]]
[[Category:Films about Jews and Judaism]]
[[Category:Fictional governesses]]

[[Category:British historical romance films]]
[[it:La governante (film 1998)]]
[[Category:Sony Pictures Classics films]]
[[pt:The Governess]]
[[Category:1998 directorial debut films]]
[[Category:1990s English-language films]]
[[Category:1990s British films]]
[[Category:English-language romantic drama films]]
[[Category:English-language historical romance films]]

Latest revision as of 04:20, 4 October 2024

The Governess
Original poster
Directed bySandra Goldbacher
Written bySandra Goldbacher
Produced by
  • Sarah Curtis
  • Sally Hibbin
Starring
CinematographyAshley Rowe
Edited byIsabelle Lorente
Music byEdward Shearmur
Production
companies
Pandora Cinema
BBC Films
Parallax Pictures
Distributed byMomentum Pictures[1]
Alliance Films[2]
Release dates
  • 31 July 1998 (1998-07-31) (US)
  • 23 October 1998 (1998-10-23) (UK)
  • 3 December 1998 (1998-12-03) (Australia)
  • 4 February 1999 (1999-02-04) (New Zealand)
Running time
114 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office$3.8 million (US)[3]

The Governess is a 1998 British period drama film written and directed by Sandra Goldbacher. The screenplay focuses on a young Jewish woman of Sephardic background, who reinvents herself as a gentile governess when she is forced to find work to support her family.

Plot

[edit]

Set in the 1830s, the story centres on Rosina da Silva, the sophisticated eldest daughter of a wealthy Jewish family living in a small enclave of Sephardic London Jews. When her father is murdered on the street and leaves behind numerous debts, she refuses an arranged marriage to an older suitor, declaring that she will work to support her family, even if she has to take to the stage like her aunt, who is a renowned singer. She decides to use her classical education and advertise her services as a governess, transforming herself into Mary Blackchurch - a Protestant of partial Italian descent - in order to conceal her heritage. She quickly accepts a position as governess for a Scottish landed gentry family living on the Isle of Skye in the Hebrides. Patriarch Charles Cavendish is a man of science intent on solving the problem of retaining a photographic image on paper, while his pretentious wife flounders in a sea of ennui. Their young daughter Clementina initially resists Mary's discipline, but eventually finds in her a friend and companion.

Mary, well-educated and unusually curious in an era when a woman's primary focus is meant to be keeping house and attending to the needs of her family, surprises Charles with the depth of her interest and ability and becomes his assistant. He is delighted to find a kindred spirit in his isolation, and the admiration she feels soon turns to passion that he reciprocates. While secretly observing Passover in her room, she spills salt water onto one of Charles' prints, accidentally discovering a technique that preserves the image. The next morning she rushes to the laboratory to tell Charles, and their excitement spills over into making love for the first time. But he becomes increasingly consumed with the race to publish their new process, while she is captivated by the beauty of the photographs they create.

Complications ensue when the Cavendishs' son Henry returns home after being expelled from the University of Oxford for smoking opium and being caught with a prostitute, and he becomes obsessed with Mary. While searching through her belongings, he uncovers evidence of her true background, and although he confesses to her that he knows about her past, he promises to keep it secret. But eventually Henry tells Charles that he is in love with Mary, and Charles ridicules his affection and disparagingly remarks that Mary is "practically a demimondaine", refusing his consent and further alienating his son.

One day she leaves a gift for Charles, a nude photograph that she took of him asleep in the laboratory after lovemaking, and he begins to shun her. When a fellow scientist visits, Charles claims sole credit for the technique she discovered. Angered by his rebuff and betrayal, Mary at first takes it out on Henry, but then decides to leave the island and return to London. On her way out, conspicuously dressed as a Jew once more, she presents to Mrs Cavendish at their dinner table the picture of her naked husband.

Back in London, she embraces her true identity and becomes a portrait photographer noted for her distinct images of the Jewish people. Her sister announces her next sitter and when Charles appears, she quietly proceeds to take his portrait. When she has finished he asks her if they are done, and she says yes, "quite done," dismissing him. She muses to the audience in closing, "I hardly think of those days at all. No, I don't think of those days at all." But his portrait remains foremost among the scattering of prints in her personal studio.

Cast

[edit]

Production

[edit]

The film was shot on location at Brodick Castle in North Ayrshire, Wrotham Park in Hertfordshire, and London.[4] Interiors were filmed at the Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire.

For the soundtrack, composer Edward Shearmur relied on the piano, harp, stringed instruments, ethnic flutes, santour, violin, and Eastern percussion instruments to imitate Sephardi melodies of the era.[5] Songs were performed in Ladino by Ofra Haza. The soundtrack also includes Ständchen, a song from the collection Schwanengesang by Franz Schubert.[5]

Reception

[edit]

Critical response

[edit]

The film debuted at the Seattle International Film Festival before going into limited release in the US. On its opening weekend it grossed $57,799 in six theaters. Its total box office in the US was $3,719,509.[3] The film received positive reception from critics, especially for Driver's performance as Rosina da Silva.

In his review in The New York Times, Stephen Holden called the film "ravishingly handsome" and added, "The Governess is a wonderful showcase for Ms. Driver . . . If [her] performance is strong, it is less than great, because her face lacks the transparency of expression that would transport us inside her character's mind . . . The movie takes some missteps. Rosina's ability to support her family in luxurious style from her earnings as a governess is implausible. The screenplay includes some glaring lapses into contemporary slang. And dramatically, the movie peters out in its disappointingly perfunctory final scenes. But [it] still leaves a lasting after-image."[6]

In Variety, Ken Eisner called the film "beautifully crafted" and said it "gets high marks for originality and style," then added, "Although first-time helmer Sandra Goldbacher, working from her own script, has come up with a fascinating premise, her follow-through is too scattered in concept and monotonous in execution to be truly rewarding . . . [It] has much to offer the senses . . . but the images are often art-directed to death, with more attention paid to fabrics, textures and colors than to narrative coherence. A little trimming could remove some of the distractions and repetition, but it won't be easy to hide the movie's lack of a solid point or payoff."[7]

In Entertainment Weekly, Owen Gleiberman graded the film a C and called it "a have-your-kugel-and-eat-it-too princess fantasy. Writer-director Sandra Goldbacher glorifies her heroine at every turn, but she also fills the movie with arid pauses, turning it into a claustrophobic study in repression."[8]

Barbara Shulgasser of the San Francisco Examiner observed, "Sandra Goldbacher, writing and directing her first feature, is a sure-handed filmmaker. The movie is a tableau of sensuality. The tactile attractiveness of the photographic images meld with the fire that devours the lovers . . . I found the end of the movie a bit of an anticlimax and sense that Goldbacher just ran out of steam. But it seems a sure bet that she has many more movies ahead of her, all of which I look forward to seeing."[9]

Ruthe Stein of the San Francisco Chronicle said, "As Rosina's extraordinary fate unfolds in The Governess, the real wonder becomes how British filmmaker Sandra Goldbacher was able to write and direct such an accomplished, touching and original movie her first time out . . . Rosina is a wonderfully rich role, and Driver gives it everything she has. It's her best work yet."[10]

Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it a grade of B.[11]

Accolades

[edit]

Ashley Rowe won the Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Technical/Artistic Achievement for his cinematography.[12] Sandra Goldbacher was nominated for the Crystal Globe and won both the Audience Award and Special Prize at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.[13]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "The Governess". Lumiere. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  2. ^ "The Governess (1998)". BBFC. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  3. ^ a b The Governess at Box Office Mojo
  4. ^ "The Governess". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  5. ^ a b Glorieux, Thomas. "The Governess". www.maintitles.net. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  6. ^ Holden, Stephen (31 July 1998). "Capturing Images and Passion in a Turbulent World". The New York Times.
  7. ^ Eisner, Ken (14 June 1998). "The Governess". Variety. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012.
  8. ^ Gleiberman, Owen. "The Governess". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 16 September 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  9. ^ Shulgasser, Barbara (7 August 1998). "A Jewish woman undercover in Britain". San Francisco Examiner.
  10. ^ Stein, Ruthe (7 August 1998). "'Governess' Can Take Care of Herself". San Francisco Chronicle.
  11. ^ "Critical Mass". Entertainment Weekly. 7 August 1998. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  12. ^ "Evening Standard British Film Awards 1990-2001". The Evening Standard. 10 April 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  13. ^ Gaydos, Steven (13 July 1998). "Karlovy Vary top honors to 'Streatheart'". Variety. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
[edit]