Mrs Dalloway

Trailer—Mrs Dalloway

"Mrs. Dalloway" is an English period flick (circa 1920ish) which is all about a day in the life of the title character (Redgrave). The film sports an excellent cast and all the trappings of the period's polite society. Unfortunately the film falls apart on story/screenplay which is a herky-jerky mess jumping around between Mr. Suicidal Whack-Job, Dalloway and her best friend umpteen years prior, and prattling about her little evening soiree while spending her time on her duff. The characters are paper thin, the story flat, and the screenplay a shambles making what could have been such a lovely film an unrecommendable waste of a good cast and crew - and that's from someone who adores British period flicks. (C)

Though I haven't read the book, I felt the movie had a lot to offer and should not be so easily dismissed as "boring." Maybe I am biased, I am an ardent fan of Vanessa Redgrave. But the real star in my opinion was Natasha McElhone. She really internalized the role of a blossoming of young girl, who is not a child not yet a woman. She is mischievous, mature yet artless in certain ways and also innately different from the "mature" Mrs Dalloway essayed by Vanessa Redgrave. I also liked Rupert Graves character. I would not have guessed the abrupt ending of his life.My one observation about the movie is till the end I was not too clear about the depth of emotions that Clarissa had for Peter!! Maybe the book also leaves it vague, but some information would have helped me understand why on one hand she treats him in such a cavalier fashion but then again she shows her tender side in her overwhelming concern for him at the end. Hope other people like it as much as I did.

Compared to 1984 and other boring tripe this film is entertaining. I like how they show the class structure, how one trys not have norms and standards. My wife thought they were snobs, but after years of working with people who act like the audience on the Jerry Springer show I found this movie quite refreshing. I would like to tell Mrs Dalloway life is not that bad, and for her friend to get over her. You tried to make her a person she is not. When you do that you end up with a unhappy life. 7 out of 10

This period film is rich in character, lush scenery of London and divine costumes. Vanessa Redgrave is simply lovely. I thoroughly enjoyed the building of the story by interchanging flashbacks with current time. The movie encourages one that hasn't read the novel by Virginia Woolf to do so.

Mrs. Dalloway is a very well-written and performed adaptation of the Virginia Woolf novel. Kudos to screenwriter Eileen Atkins for her faithfulness to the original story. The double casting of the central characters is realistic and makes the flashback scenes easy to follow. Every actor was completely believable in his/her role. But the most brilliant performance of all was Rupert Graves as Septimus Warren Smith, the tragic young war hero suffering from delayed shell shock. (For the full impact of his inner torment, try watching this movie with a combat veteran, as I did.) A quality movie. Don't miss it!

This film is VERY little less than a masterpiece! It actually works on several levels, all blending effortlessly together. Redgrave is absolutely sublime and shows what a great actress she really is - she sails thru the film with grace and dignity and lends real spirit to the character whom she plays. Surrounded by a stellar cast, most notably Graves and McElhone she makes this film a sheer delight to watch. And you can watch it again and again and never get tired of the wit and beauty which is ever-present all thru the film.

Like most of Virginia Woolf's literary output, I appreciated the film-version of "Mrs. Dalloway" more than I enjoyed it. There are flashes of blinding beauty in this movie, however, the film's "sum" is not equal to its "parts". Of course, Vanessa Redgrave continues to astound me with her talent. And ---yes, the film is beautifully made and attention to period detail is evident. And --- yes, parts of the story are very heart-rending. Yet.... why does this film satisfy me but not move me? Like a guest at one of Mrs. Dalloway's parties, I am more impressed with the effort that went into the production than the product itself.

Since I was just finishing the book, `Mrs. Dalloway' by Virginia Woolf, I was excited to see that it was on one of the movie channels last weekend. What I encountered, however, is a film that was boring, incomprehensible and non-sensical. One cannot entirely blame the film, it tried the best it could with the material it had, but when the source material is Virginia Woolf, and is almost entirely written in stream-of-conscience style with extended periods of internalizing and little actual dialogue, one would certainly think that there shouldn't be a film made from it just because a film can be made from it. Vanessa Redgrave, who plays the title character, does not deserve any blame for the failure of this film, nor do any of the other actors. It is just simply a film that could not intelligibly be made from the story that Woolfe wrote, and should not have even been attempted. Don't watch the movie, read the book. --Shelly

Everyone doesn't like everything, so I'm not surprised that some people find the movie of Mrs. Dalloway boring. They probably would find the book boring too. But it's depressing. So they won't agree with some of us who see the novel as one of the great works of the 20th century, and the film as a truly remarkable and beautiful capturing of it. The only touch I regretted was the opening of the film with the Septimus Warren-Smith war scenes. The opening really belongs with Mrs. D. and her first words, "I will buy the flowers myself." After that moment, it's a quiet day but a beautiful and sensitive one.