Washington Square (1997)

Catherine Sloper has found the man of her dreams in Morris Townsend, but her plans to marry him are strongly opposed by her father, who believes Townsend is only interested in his daughter ... See full summary »

Director:

Agnieszka Holland

Writers:

Henry James (novel), Carol Doyle (screenplay)

Stars:

Jennifer Jason Leigh, Albert Finney, Maggie Smith

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jennifer Jason Leigh	...	Catherine Sloper
Albert Finney	...	Dr. Austin Sloper
Maggie Smith	...	Aunt Lavinia Penniman
Ben Chaplin	...	Morris Townsend
Judith Ivey	...	Aunt Elizabeth Almond
Arthur Laupus	...	Mr. Almond
Jennifer Garner	...	Marian Almond
Robert Stanton	...	Arthur Townsend
Betsy Brantley	...	Mrs. Montgomery
Nancy Daly	...	Maureen (Maid)
Sara Ruzicka	...	Catherine Sloper (age 11)
Rachel Layne Sacrey	...	Sarah Almond
Rachel Osborne	...	Alice Almond
Scott Jaeck	...	John Ludlow
Peter Maloney	...	Jacob Webber (Notary)

Storyline

Catherine Sloper has found the man of her dreams in Morris Townsend, but her plans to marry him are strongly opposed by her father, who believes Townsend is only interested in his daughter for her money. But Catherine is determined to follow her heart, even if she loses her inheritance in the process. But just what are Townsend's intentions?

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Plot Keywords:

money | twenty something | self destruction | based on stage play based on novel | dying | 

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Taglines:

She must choose between her father's fortune... Or the man she loves.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements including some sensuality, a childbirth scene and brief mild language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

10 October 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Erbin vom Washington Square

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

DEM 103,171 (Germany) (3 April 1998)

Gross:

DEM 103,171 (Germany) (3 April 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alchemy Filmworks, Caravan Pictures, Hollywood Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At one point, Brooke Shields was cast as Catherine Sloper, but dropped out due to her commitment to the TV series Suddenly Susan.

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Quotes

Dr. Austin Sloper: If a prelude is necessary, the news must be bad.

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Connections

Version of The Heiress (1949)

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Soundtracks

"L'Absence"
Lyrics by Théophile Gautier
Music by Jan A.P. Kaczmarek
Quartet Version Vocal by Marissa Anna Muro
Orchestra Version Vocal by Marta Boberska

User Reviews

Flat movie which betrays the spirit of James' novel

"Washington Square" is a flat, shabby adaptation of the short novel by Henry James. Indeed, the novel is very good, but far from the level of James' masterpieces. Moreover its simple, eventless story seems unsuited to make it into a film (although William Wyler, with his "The Heiress", gave in 1949 a beautiful version of the novel).

Anyway, the movie completely betrays the spirit of this work of the great American writer. In the novel, the heroine Catherine is shy, not very attractive and somewhat clumsy, but nonetheless she is a sound, intelligent young woman, and she's not as naive as it may seem. Her attachment for her father is dignified and respectful, with no morbid sides in it. Along three quarters of the movie, Catherine (Jennifer Jason Leigh) just seems to be mentally retarded, poor thing. In the last quarter, she suddenly (and incredibly) becomes intelligent, aware of her dignity as a woman, and all that.

The director Agnieszka Holland has added two vulgar scenes to the story. The first, when the nervous child Catherine has, well, troubles with her vesica. The second scene, when we see on the background a sort of open-air brothel, with prostitutes taking their customers behind tents, and so on. Nothing could be more contrary to the spirit and artistic ideals of Henry James. It is notorious that the writer was extremely decent and demure even for the standards of the Victorian age. I defy anyone to find any coarseness anywhere in the thousands of pages of James' huge literary production. I really was particularly annoyed by these two scenes.

Yes, I know that a director needs reasonable freedom in the screen adaptation of a novel. But if a director utterly ignores or misunderstands the art of an author (here Henry James), I don't see the point of using his work to make a bad movie.

The acting is adequate to the movie: poor and flat, in spite of the talent of Albert Finney and Maggie Smith. "Washington Square" is definitely a non-recommendable film.