Heading Home (13 Jan. 1991)

A story of a women is torn between two men in post world war II London.

Director:

David Hare

Writer:

David Hare

Stars:

Gary Oldman, Joely Richardson, Stephen Dillane

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Gary Oldman	...	Ian Tyson
Joely Richardson	...	Janetta Wheatland
Stephen Dillane	...	Leonard Meopham
Stella Gonet	...	Beryl James
Michael Bryant	...	Derek Green
Eugene Lipinski	...	Juliusz Janowski
John Moffatt	...	Mr. Evernden
Leon Eagles	...	Mr. Ashcroft
Sandy McDade	...	Lesley Perowne
David Schneider	...	Stamford Hill Cowboy
Doyne Bird	...	Auctioneer
Lollie May	...	Mrs. Gill
Alan Pattison	...	Roman
Irena Delmar	...	Singer
Paul Reeves	...	Anton

Storyline

A story of a women is torn between two men in post world war II London.

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Plot Keywords:

london england | world war two

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 January 1991 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Still thinking about it after all these years

I went to check this out on IMDb after seeing Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) because I remember it as a really great performance by Gary Oldman. I had taped "Heading Home" from TV and watched it several times. Since it has few reviews and no plot summary, here goes.

As the other reviewers noted, the story is set in the early 50s, at a moment when England is still recovering from the war and there are all kinds of ferment in London: artists and poets have their own marginal culture, supporting each other's efforts to develop a new British aesthetic, while other, less educated men, like Oldman's Ian and the gangsters who lurk in the background of his life, are scrambling in the economic chaos to make their own pile of money.

Beautiful Janetta comes to London from the country and falls in love with a handsome poet, who displays her to his friends as his muse. Then she meets Ian, who is not handsome or educated but who is full of energy, hope, desire--and intelligence. Ian sees her personal charm as something to be put to work, and gives her a job and the possibility of making money.

The final scene, in which Janetta talks about the fragility of the truths she knows about that era, moved me at the time very deeply and still echoes in my memory. Richardson was great, and Oldman's Ian was one of the most alive characters I have ever seen on the screen.