Rating: 
Summary: One of the best literary adaptations out there
Review: This film version is very close to being as good as the book, which is fantabulous. It is heartbreaking and will leave you in tears, but at the same time it is an intriguing and beautiful love story. Jennifer Jason Leigh does a superb job as Catherine. I recommend buying and reading the book, and then buying and watching the film. You will return to both countless times. I love this story!
Rating: 
Summary: dull
Review: this is a pretty dull story about jilted love. the film is based on a henry james book and it shows. james was famous for his 'realism' and 'psychological depth', qualities that he criticized an older dickens for lacking. but this movie shows what james himself lacked that dickens had in spades: ability to tell interesting stories. yeah, the characters are 'real'. but they're dull. yeah, the story is 'realistic', but it's boring. the best thing about this film is the camera work, especially the long establishing shot. that was very good! the rest of the film i can leave. oh, and jjl looks awful in this pic! god, she looks every bit in her 40's. i thought ben chaplin was making love to his mother. ugh.i'm not surprised none of james' books were named in that list of '100 greatest books of all time'. if nothing else, a film should make you want to read the book. after watching this, i'm not exactly running to my local library to get a copy.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing Story.
Review: This is an amazing story. Betsy Brantley is so intriguing. And Albert Finney as her pursuer is so mysterious. I guarantee it will keep you guessing as to whether he is truely in love or a fortune-hunter. This is a must-see movie!!!(P.S. Don't forget to buy the Soundtrack - the music is just as amazingly beautiful!!)
Rating: 
Summary: excellent period piece
Review: This is an excellent period piece set in New York based on a short story by Henry James, and dated,film critic Roger Ebert claims, from before the Civil War. Jennifer Jason Leigh is an attractive blonde actress (see also her performance in the Russian film "The Quickie") but here she plays an heiress and is rendered somewhat less attractive it would appear by the oppressive dictatorial regime of her doctor father, who vehemently opposes her liaison with "ne'er-do-well" businessman Morris Townsend. She is attractive enough to attract him, or is it just her money he's after? Her father, as Townsend points out, would "oppose a courtship (of her) by the pope." So this is basically a story of unrequited love. But while it may be exceedingly painful for her, it is still fun to watch. She is totally devoted to her father, from her birth to his death, so this is an unfathomable dilemma for her. Some of the best scenes in the movie are the musical scenes at the piano, both with Morris and with various children. Maggie Smith plays a household helper who attempts to aid and abet her relationship with Morris. There are also some colorful scenes in Europe, where her father takes her in an unsuccessful attempt to make her forget Morris.
Rating:
Summary: one of Ben Chaplin's finest films yet!
Review: This movie (Washington Square)will take you back to Washington to the days of horse drawn carriages and top hats. This is a film about a 19th century gigolo (Ben Chaplin) who is very charming and handsome and doesn't try to hide his english accent like in Ben Chaplin's resent films where they chop off his hair and cover up his natural english speaking accent. His recent films do him an injustice, but this film (Washington Square) was made before HollyWood had a chance to make him a common actor.
Rating:
Summary: A perfectly cast film with a heart-wrenching story
Review: This movie is the antithesis of the Jane Austen story format in which everyone ends up living happily ever after. It is, however, an extremely touching character study of a girl whose loyalty is torn between her unloving father and her false fiance--and how she rises above both of them. The four main characters play their parts perfectly and subtly, and stay true to the novel. The soundtrack is also beautiful.
Rating:
Summary: What a superb movie
Review: This movie is undoubtedly one of the most dramatic in history. Unlike most other love stories, it ends on a sad note, but has an opening for pride in the future for it's innocent, heartbroken protagonist Catherine. The cast is very good (except for the young Catherine) and did a superb job acting. The costumes are perfect, the music is completely fitting. This movie is certainly worth seeing.
Rating:
Summary: FATHER KNOWS BEST...
Review: Washington Square is an engaging period piece, with wonderful performances to be had by Albert Finney, Maggie Smith, and Ben Chaplin. The only jarring note here is the performance by Jennifer Jason Leigh, who lacks subtlety and is so heavy handed as to be distracting. This movie closely follows Henry James' novel of the same name. Albert Finney plays a wealthy doctor, Austin Sloper, whose wife died giving birth to their daughter, Katherine, an only child raised by the imposing Doctor Sloper with the assistance of the Katherine's maternal, but silly and vapid Aunt Lavinia, beautifully played by Maggie Smith. Katherine, a shy and clumsy child, desperately wanting, but lacking, affection from her imperious and distant father, grows up to be a plain faced, graceless, and awkward, young woman. As played by Jennifer Jason Leigh, she is a caricature rather than a fully fleshed character. Her portrayal of Katherine shows her lack of skill as an actress, especially when compared to the finely nuanced performances given by the other actors. When this clumsy, plain jane is wooed by the dashing, but penniless young hunk, Morris Townsend, she falls hard and wants desperately to marry him. Silly Aunt Lavinia encourages the romance and aids and abets the lovers, curiously fulfilling her own romantic fantasies, while assisting her niece in fulfilling hers. Her father, however, pegs the handsome Mr. Townsend as a fortune hunter, because, he reasons, why else would Mr. Townsend want to marry his graceless lump of a daughter? Needless to say, what follows is the cat and mouse game Dr. Sloper and Townsend play with each other, as well as with Katherine. Father threatens to disinherit daughter, and daughter swears she will marry suitor, despite father's threats. Suitor equivocates on the issue of whether disinheritance will cool his affections for Katherine. Does he do so out of love for Katherine or self interest? Suffice to say, while Katherine ends up finally getting some backbone in the end, one must ask who is the the ultimate victor in this drama. In my book, Father wins hands down and has the last laugh from the grave. All in all, this is a handsome and, for the most part, well acted period piece that will be enjoyed by those who love this genre of film. --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition
|
