The Heart of Me (2002)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Thaddeus O'Sullivan

Writers:

Rosamond Lehmann (novel)
Lucinda Coxon (screenplay)

Release Date:

2 May 2003 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Every pleasure has a price...

Plot:

1930's London. Two sisters - Madeleine and Dinah - One marries Rickie, the other falls in love with him. He begins an affair which is to have repercussions throughout their lives.

Plot Keywords:

1930s | London | Painter | Hospital | Car Accident

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Helena Bonham Carter	...	Dinah
Olivia Williams	...	Madeleine
Paul Bettany	...	Rickie
Eleanor Bron	...	Mrs. Burkett
Luke Newberry	...	Anthony
Tom Ward	...	Jack
Gillian Hanna	...	Betty
Andrew Havill	...	Charles
Alison Reid	...	Bridie
Kathryn Tennant-Maw	...	Sylvia
Rebecca Charles	...	Miss Matthews
John Rowe	...	Drysdale
Shaughan Seymour	...	Jeweller
Simon Day	...	Hospital Doctor
Jenny Howe	...	Nurse

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexuality.

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

UK | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Australia:M | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Isle of Man

Company:

Martin Pope Productions

Trivia:

One of the cars used in this movie is a 1931 Austin 7 box saloon.

Quotes:

Dinah: And throughout all Eternity I forgive you, you forgive me

Soundtrack:

In the Bleak Midwinter

Sisters and their men

Beyond the beautiful photography and brilliant performances in this fine film, it brings us an intimate view into one of this life's great challenges. Having almost stepped into Ricky's shoes myself, this story clears away the fog of imagined outcomes to reveal the most essential, critical and invariable costs with their likely and possible consequences.

These three characters, the husband Ricky, the wife Madeleine, and the sister Dinah, live lives well examined, know well the agony and the ecstasy of true love, of loving without reservation, and that life is short and then we're gone forever. That true loves makes the gods jealous of our mortality.

Perhaps there is a marriage of reason, and then an affair d'amour. But there's much more than that. Ricky loves Madeleine, and then he loves Dinah. Both are wonderful, brilliant women with whom any man could be truly content and more than that, in love.

But this is their lives: this situation has much more depth than a simple love triangle, or a man lacking reason. It is the force of life, the river that runs through us when love flies. It's about choices, yes. But it's about one's life. Can Ricky choose to not love Dinah? Can he live the rest of his days not having known the outcome? How does one choose such a thing? How does one decide? That's why we need this story. To illuminate the road ahead. Is love with Dinah more than love with Madeleine? This is the question, perhaps in real life. And this story will help.

The film steps through the traversal of events in quick succession, depending on our keen understanding to comprehend what may and may not possibly be happening to each character.

On a much smaller note, in this writer's opinion this film contains one of the most beautiful images of any. A quick little profile shot of Helena Bonham Carter in profile, wearing some clown makeup. For the briefest moment, one may find one of film's finest flowers.