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Plot

This adaptation of the novel by Virginia Woolf stars Vanessa Redgrave as Clarissa Dalloway, a woman in her mid-'50s living in London five years after the end of WWI. As Mrs. Dalloway prepares an elaborate dinner party at the home she shares with her husband, a prominent politician, she finds herself looking back on her life 30 years before, when as a young woman (played by (Natascha McElhone), she was in love with two different men -- the solid and safe Richard Dalloway (John Standing) and the exciting, free-spirited Peter Walsh (Michael Kitchen). Clarissa also recalls her close friendship with Sally (Lena Headey) as she wonders if she made the right choice in marrying Richard -- especially when Peter makes an unexpected appearance at her party. Mrs. Dalloway also finds herself moved in a way she never anticipated by the plight of Septimus Smith (Rupert Graves), a young man severely injured during the war whom she has never met. Mrs. Dalloway was directed by Marleen Gorris, whose previous credit was the international success Antonia's Line.
MPAA Rating:
PG-13 for emotional elements and brief nudity.
Genre(s):
Drama,Foreign
Run Time:
97min.
Theatrical Release Date:
02/20/1998
DVD Release Date:
05/25/2004
Distributor(s):
Paramount
Director(s):
Themes:
Party Film,Haunted By the Past
Tone:
Elegiac,Enigmatic,Melancholy,Atmospheric,Compassionate,Gentle,Literate,Reflective,Sentimental,Talky,Intimate,Understated
Keywords:
dinner-party,love-triangle,old-flame,reminiscence,war
Language:
English