''Mrs Dalloway'' is a 1997 British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

, a co-production by the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Netherlands, directed by Marleen Gorris and stars

Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress and activist. Throughout her career spanning over seven decades, Redgrave has garnered numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Television Award, two ...

, Natascha McElhone and

Michael Kitchen Michael Roy Kitchen (born 31 October 1948) is an English actor and television producer, best known for his starring role as Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle in the ITV drama ''Foyle's War'', which comprised eight series betwee ...

. Based on the 1925 novel by

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born i ...

, and moving continually between the present and the past that is in the characters' heads, it covers a day in the life of Mrs Dalloway, wife of a prosperous politician in London.

Plot

On a beautiful morning in 1923, Clarissa Dalloway sets out from her large house in Westminster to choose the flowers for a party she is holding that evening. Her teenage daughter Elizabeth is unsympathetic, preferring the company of the evangelical Miss Kilman. A passionate old suitor, Peter Walsh, turns up and does not disguise the mess he has made of his career and his love life. For Clarissa this confirms her choice in preferring the unexciting but affectionate and dependable Richard Dalloway. At her party Sally turns up, who was her closest friend, so close they kissed on the lips, but is now wife of a self-made millionaire and mother of five. Intercut with Clarissa's present and past is the story of another couple. Septimus was a decorated officer in the First World War but is now collapsing under the strain of delayed shell-shock, in which he is paralysed by horrible flashbacks and consumed with guilt over the death of his closest comrade. His wife Rezia tries to get him psychiatric help but the doctors she consults are little use: when one commits him to a mental hospital, he jumps from a window to his death. The doctor turns up late at Clarissa's party, apologising because he had to attend to a patient's suicide. Clarissa stands by a window and ponders what it would mean to jump.

Cast

– Mrs Clarissa Dalloway * Natascha McElhone – Young Clarissa *

– Peter Walsh * Alan Cox – Young Peter * Sarah Badel – Lady Rosseter * Lena Headey – Young Sally *

John Standing Sir John Ronald Leon, 4th Baronet (born 16 August 1934) is an English actor and baronet who is known as John Standing. He is the stepson of John Clements. Early life Standing was born in London, the son of Kay Hammond (née Dorothy Katherin ...

– Richard Dalloway * Robert Portal – Young Richard * Oliver Ford Davies – Hugh Whitbread *

Hal Cruttenden Hal Dominic Bart Cruttenden (born 9 September 1969) is an English stand-up comedian, actor, presenter, and writer. Early life Hal Dominic Bart Cruttenden was born in the Ealing district of London on 9 September 1969. He is the younger brother o ...

– Young Hugh * Rupert Graves – Septimus Warren Smith * Amelia Bullmore – Rezia Warren Smith * Margaret Tyzack – Lady Bruton *

Robert Hardy Timothy Sydney Robert Hardy (29 October 1925 – 3 August 2017) was an English actor who had a long career in theatre, film and television. He began his career as a classical actor and later earned widespread recognition for roles such as Sieg ...

– Sir William Bradshaw * Richenda Carey – Lady Bradshaw *

Katie Carr Katie Carr (born London, 1973) is an English actress and model. She may be best known for her appearances in ''Dinotopia'' as Marion and in ''Heroes'' as Caitlin Caitlin () is a female given name of Irish origin. Historically, the Irish name ...

– Elizabeth Dalloway * Selina Cadell – Miss Kilman * Amanda Drew – Lucy * Phyllis Calvert – Aunt Helena

Reception

The film grossed £200,892 ($0.3 million) in the United Kingdom. In the United States and Canada, it grossed $3,309,421. ''Mrs Dalloway'' received positive reviews from critics. Review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

gives the film an approval rating of 71% based on 34 reviews.

References

External links

* * 1997 films 1990s historical drama films British historical drama films Films based on British novels Films directed by Marleen Gorris Films set in London Virginia Woolf in performing arts Films set in the 1920s Films about post-traumatic stress disorder British LGBT-related films LGBT-related drama films 1997 LGBT-related films 1990s English-language films 1990s British films {{1990s-UK-film-stub