Impromptu (1991)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

James Lapine

Writer:

Sarah Kernochan (writer)

Release Date:

May 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Music

Plot:

In 1830s France, pianist/composer Frédéric Chopin is pursued romantically by the determined, individualistic woman who uses the name George Sand.

Plot Keywords:

Composer | 1830s | Frederick Chopin | Duel | Footsie Under The Table

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Judy Davis	...	George Sand / Aurora
Hugh Grant	...	Frederic Chopin
Mandy Patinkin	...	Alfred De Musset
Bernadette Peters	...	Marie D'Agoult
Julian Sands	...	Franz Liszt
Ralph Brown	...	Eugene Delacroix
Georges Corraface	...	Felicien Mallefille
Anton Rodgers	...	Duke D'Antan
Emma Thompson	...	Duchess D'Antan
Anna Massey	...	George Sand's Mother
David Birkin	...	Maurice
Nimer Rashed	...	Didier
Fiona Vincente	...	Solange
John Savident	...	Buloz
Lucy Speed	...	Young Aurora

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

UK | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Iceland:L | Netherlands:12 (DVD rating) | Netherlands:6 | Australia:M | Finland:S | Germany:6 | Sweden:7 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

Château des Briottières, Champigné, Maine-et-Loire, France

Company:

C.L.G. Films

Quotes:

Baroness Laginsky: I knew your father when he was young.
George Sand: Really?
Baroness Laginsky: Oh, yes. We girls were enraged when we heard he'd married that dancer, or whatever she was.
George Sand: You mean my mother?

Movie Connections:

Version of La note bleue (1991)

An underrated treat...thank you, PBS!

I first saw this film courtesy of "Masterpiece Theater", a weekly program presented by PBS -- had it not been for the good taste of one PBS program manager out there, I might never have seen this charming and provocative film.

Yes, it's a period piece. Yes, there are flounces and top hats and castles and duels. But the core of "Impromptu" explores love, jealousy, and the process of artistic creation in ways that keep the film captivating for the most jaded modern viewer.

Judy Davis capably assumes the mantle of convention-bucking authoress George Sand, providing a fiery counterpart to Hugh Grant's self-deprecating (and effective) Chopin. Mandy Patinkin shines as one of Sand's many jilted ex-lovers, and Bernadette Peters is maliciously admirable as Sand's "friend" who wants Chopin for herself. Emma Thompson's hilarious cameo as a dense provincial duchess itself provides almost enough reason to watch the film.

"Impromptu" boasts a great ensemble cast, witty dialogue, balanced humor and pathos, luscious period costumes and scenery, and the music of Chopin playing all the while -- what more could one want? "Impromptu" unfolds like a 19th-century soap opera, with arresting characters and meditations on art saving it from the banality of a typical romance...or a typical period piece.

This one's worth the flounces.