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Enchanted April

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This lovely, 1991 adaptation of Elizabeth Von Arnim's novel has a superb cast and a tone so mellow you can feel your pulse get slower. Josie Lawrence and Miranda Richardson play a pair of unhappily married women who rent an Italian villa for a month, sharing the rent with a crusty Englishwoman (Joan Plowright) and a lonely aristocrat (Polly Walker). Sun, rest, sinking into the green grass for long naps--they all have a soulful effect on the quartet, and then on the men in their lives who make a surprise visit. Mike Newell (Into the West) directs with seeming effortlessness, and it is impossible not to be swayed by the promise of restoration for these burdened characters--or for anyone alive. Wonderful performances all around, including a particularly sensitive one by Alfred Molina and a very funny one by Jim Broadbent. --Tom Keogh

Product Description

Two proper Englishwomen, determined to get away from their drab lives and inattentive husbands, find paradise among the serene countryside of the Italian Riviera in this enchanting adventure starring Josie Lawrence and Miranda Richardson (Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire). When the pair rents a magnificent villa for a month, they share expenses with two unlikely companions an austere widow and a bored socialite. At first, personalities clash, but the hideaway holds a special magic that soon sparks friendships and reminds the women of ways to live and love that have long eluded them. Stellar performances and breathtaking scenery make the Academy Award nominated Enchanted April (1992: Best Supporting Actress, Joan Plowright; Best Costume Design; Best Adapted Screenplay) a captivating delight for everyone who s ever dreamed of taking the perfect holiday.

Review

Nominations and Awards: Academy Awards 1993: Nominations: Best Supporting Actress Joan Plowright, Best Costume Design, Best Writing/Screenplay
Golden Globes Awards 1993: Wins: Best Actress: Miranda Richardson, Best Supporting Actress Joan Plowright
Golden Globes Awards 1992: Nominations: Best Motion Picture Comedy
New York Film Critics Circle Awards 1992: Wins: Best Supporting Actress Miranda Richardson
Cleveland International Film Festival 1992: Wins: Best Film
Tony Awards 2003: Nominated: Best Play, Best Actress: Jayne Atkinson
Writers Guild of America 1993: Nominations: Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published --imdb.com

Don't be put off by the stuffy Masterpiece Theater trappings of this Twenties period piece. The exquisitely wrought tale of four British women of different backgrounds who rent a villa in Portofino, Italy, is delivered with a witty feminist twist by director Mike Newell (Dance With a Stranger) and an outstanding cast. Poor Rose Arbuthnot, luminously played by Miranda Richardson the murderous protagonist of Newell's Dance is too circumspect to confront her romance-novelist husband, Frederick (Jim Broadbent), about his cheating. But she does work up the courage to organize an April in Italy with her friend Lottie Wilkins (Josie Lawrence). Men, including Lottie's domineering husband, Mellersh (Alfred Molina), are not invited. Joining this low-key Thelma and Louise to share expenses are the glamorous Lady Caroline (Polly Walker), a social butterfly on leave from sex, and the sixtyish Mrs. Fisher (Joan Plowright), a widow whose acid tongue can't hide her loneliness. The sensual bloom of the Italian countryside, gracefully evoked by cinematographer Rex Maidment, loosens inhibitions and creates a strong bond among the women. Peter Baines, who adapted Elizabeth Von Arnim's 1922 novel, has a knack for showing the strength women derive from each other. Though all the performances are beautifully realized, Walker is a stunning standout. Eventually Frederick and Mellersh (done to a high-comic turn by Molina) intrude on this female Eden. Visiting, too, is George Briggs (Michael Kitchen), the owner of the villa, whose fervor for Rose instigates a romantic crisis. Enchanted April is modest but not insubstantial. It's a jewel of a movie that brims with the pleasures of the unexpected. --Rolling Stone, ISBN13: B00005JL1R ISBN10: B00005JL1R Material Type: dvd