Hilary and Jackie

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Hilary and Jackie is a film that can be appreciated on many levels. The performances of Ms. Griffith and Ms. Watson as the title characters were superb, but so were the actors that played the parents and husbands, and the two young actresses playing them as girls were terrific. All the people in the film were interesting. The film gives insight into the life of a musical genius with its rewards and triumphs as well as conflicts and sacrifices. There is also a psychological aspect at the heart of this film. From the beginning the two sisters have a bond, almost a symbiotic relationship, yet there is also intense competition. To make the presentation even more interesting the relationship is presented in two "acts", the first told from Hilary's perspective and the second from Jackie's. Whose is more real? Does it make a difference? The final scenes as MS is taking its toll on Jackie are gripping. Both actresses were deserving of their nominations. This was great entertainment! Three and half stars!!!

The problem with Hilary and Jackie is that it is based on a book by someone who is insanely jealous of her sister. If you want to see the real Jacqueline Du Pre, see the video Remembering Jacqueline Du Pre. Not only does it show her playing the Elgar Cello Concerto, it has her playing the Trout quintet with people who loved her: Daniel Barenboim (Du Pre's husband), Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman and Zubin Mehta. These people have all denounced this film as a pack of lies and they should know since they were the ones close to Jacqueline during the time in question, not her sister. There is nothing in this film that helps to appreciate the artistry and talent of Jacqueline Du Pre. The film makers gloss over the tragedy of her succumbing to MS and concentrate on sordid episodes that are probably distorted, if not completely false. The production quality is what you would expect from a made for TV film, although Emily Watson shows considerable talent. I rarely give out the lowest rating possible, but this one gets a 1/10 for being despicably repulsive and attempting to discredit one of the great artists of our lifetime. Instead of watching this film, go out and buy a copy of Jacqueline Du Pre's recording of the Elgar Cello concerto. It is one of the greatest recordings of all time!

I'm amazed that the writer and director could take over two hours of the sensationally dramatic and traumatic lives of H&J and instead of presenting us with a vast, detailed landscape of passion, deceit, love, sibling competition, family loyalties and a host of other topics, they managed to find a narrow, faltering meandering path that deliberately seemed to avoid the dramatic and added not a jot of insight to the sister's lives (the collapse of Hilary's musical career was ignored) and various relationships. The start was far too slow and the long drawn out end unnecessary. Much more interesting to scrutinize in detail the period from teens to late twenties but the director insisted on a thud by thud full life account, no matter how uninteresting. I thought this was a film I'd sob through - I

Music biopics, at least those concerned with classical music, tend to be pallid things; the lives of composers and performers are often uneventful compared those of politicians, generals, artists and even actors. "Amadeus" made a drama out of aspects of Mozart's brief life and Ken Russell had fun with Tchaikovsky in "The Music Lovers" but with most musicians the drama is in their performance. This movie uncovers the rather sad relationship between Jacqueline Du Pre, the brilliant cellist, and her older sister Hilary, also a musician (flautist) of talent. After acquiring public acclaim as a child prodigy, Jackie married another prodigy, the pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim, with whom she frequently performed. At the pinnacle of her success, in her mid-twenties, she started to show signs of multiple sclerosis and was soon forced to retire. Her last 15 years were a decline "in fits and starts" to a vegetative state. Not a pleasant tale. And it seems the gorgeous blonde Jackie was not a particularly likeable lady. So grimly competitive was she towards Hilary that at one point she insisted on sharing Hilary's husband with her, even though she was still married to Barenboim. The story is taken from a book by Hilary and their brother Piers, so one might expect it to be the story from Hilary's point of view. The film attempts to put some balance into the portrayal by first giving us "Hilary" and then "Jackie" but the result is still a pretty dire picture of Jackie, who is portrayed as vain, self-centred, immature, foul-mouthed, cynical and not terribly bright. As Daniel Barenboim is still very much alive (and able to sue) his part in the drama is very lightly sketched in - his alleged neglect of Jackie after she becomes ill is only alluded to by one telephone call. Towards the end, Hilary and Jackie became estranged, though it is not clear why (Hilary's marriage apparently survives) but there is a reconciliation of a sort. The story is nicely realised with lots of music, including part of the original Du Pre/Barenboim recording of the Elgar cello concerto, the performance for which they are justly famous. As Jackie, Emily Watson is the full-on talented gorgeous blonde brat, a bit like Tom Hulse's Mozart in "Amadeus" but easier to understand. Rachel Griffiths does a good plainer, smarter sister but perhaps lays on the English reserve a bit thick (she is of course Australian). As their father, an amiable Colonel Blimp figure, Charles Dance has rather a small role but steals a couple of moments, as does Hilary's exasperated flute examiner, Professor Bentley, played by Vernon Dobtchev. The character of the girl's musically ambitious Mother (Celia Imrie), obviously a key figure, is oddly underdeveloped. Piers is also kept in the background. As Barenboim, James Frain bears an uncanny physical resemblance to the young Argentine virtuoso, but as mentioned is a shadowy presence also. Perhaps the book told the story better and what we have here is a summary of it with some nice music thrown in, and some sumptuous locations. Still when you're sitting on a plane in business class and it's a choice between "Hilary and Jackie," "Meet Joe Black" (the Devil as played by Brad Pitt) and some movie about a gorilla called Joe (another re-hash of the King Kong Story) it passes the time. Those poor b******s back in economy are stuck with the gorilla.

"Hilary and Jackie" is a good film based upon the famous cellist Jacqueline Du Pré's (and her sister's) life. In the beginning it is a very fascinating story, and Jackie's life is definitely interesting. However, the director/editor makes the mistake of leaving the linear structure of the story telling, by leaving the story at the most interesting point, just to go back and re-tell it from Jackie's point of view (we saw it from Hilary's point of view first). Some people might say that this is good -- I do not agree. Sure, there are facts in Jackie's story that are absolutely crucial in explaining her very odd behaviour in the film, but that could still have been told linear. A bad choice, really, but the film is still rather engrossing and both Emily Watson and Rachel Griffiths are wonderful. (6/10)

I found it pretentious to the point of offensiveness. A real effort to sit through.