Tom & Viv (1994)

In 1915, T.S. (Tom) Eliot and Vivienne Haigh-Wood elope, but her longstanding gynecological and emotional problems disrupt their planned honeymoon. Her father is angry because Tom's poetry ... See full summary »

Director:

Brian Gilbert

Writers:

Michael Hastings (play), Michael Hastings,

Stars:

Willem Dafoe, Miranda Richardson, Rosemary Harris

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Willem Dafoe	...	Tom Eliot
Miranda Richardson	...	Vivienne Haigh-Wood
Rosemary Harris	...	Rose Haigh-Wood
Tim Dutton	...	Maurice Haigh-Wood
Nickolas Grace	...	Bertrand Russel
Geoffrey Bayldon	...	Harwent
Clare Holman	...	Louise Purdon
Philip Locke	...	Charles Haigh-Wood
Joanna McCallum	...	Virginia Woolf
Joseph O'Conor	...	Bishop of Oxford
John Savident	...	Sir Frederick Lamb
Michael Attwell	...	W.I. Janes
Sharon Bower	...	Secretary
Linda Spurrier	...	Edith Sitwell
Roberta Taylor	...	Ottoline Morrell

Storyline

In 1915, T.S. (Tom) Eliot and Vivienne Haigh-Wood elope, but her longstanding gynecological and emotional problems disrupt their planned honeymoon. Her father is angry because Tom's poetry doesn't bring in enough to live on, but her mother is happy Viv has found a tender and discreet husband.

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Plot Keywords:

poet | menstruation | love | writer | marriage | 

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Taglines:

For better, for worse, forever.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 December 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tom & Viv - nel bene, nel male, per sempre

Filming Locations:

Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Gross:

$538,534 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Screen Productions, Harvey Kass, IRS Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in I Dreamt Under the Water (2008)

User Reviews

The thunder speaks to Tom and Viv

The film starts with a passionate embrace between Tom and Viv on the innocent setting of an Oxford punt. For the next quarter of an hour you may think that this will be an ordinary, merchant ivory type film about an upper-crust gal and her american beau writing away their cares in the dreaming spires of Oxford. However the idyllic setting and the gentle breezes soon fade into nothingness and before long you are forced to comprehend the tortured soul of one suffering from mental hysteria and the immediate effects of that on those who are subjected to the outbursts. Miranda Richardson's performance as the highly strung wife of one of our most famous poets, takes this film to another level. Although the story is essentially a simple love story why it sits apart from the rest is purely down to the fact that Tom suffers Viv's neuroses silently like the true English gentleman he has become. Devotees of T.S. Elliot may find that the film is superficial in its reference to his work and that the focus is centered on Viv. Yet at the end of the film I was left with a heightened awareness of what and who might have propelled him to write the way he did. This bitter-sweet film tugs at the heart strings just so.