Where Angels Fear to Tread (1991)

Regisseur:

Charles Sturridge

Drehbuchautoren:

E.M. Forster (novel)
Tim Sullivan (writer) ...

Premierendatum:

28. Februar 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The widow Lilia Herriton meets a young man when she visits Italy and marries him. The man is only a dentist without a good name...

Plot Keywords:

Costume Drama | Based On Novel | Independent Film

Nutzerkommentare:

A decent if unspectacular adaptation

Besetzung

Rupert Graves	...	Philip Herriton
Helen Mirren	...	Lilia Herriton
Helena Bonham Carter	...	Caroline Abbott
Barbara Jefford	...	Mrs. Herriton
Judy Davis	...	Harriet Herriton
Thomas Wheatley	...	Mr. Kingcroft
Sophie Kullmann	...	Irma
Vass Anderson	...	Mr. Abbott
Sylvia Barter	...	Mrs. Theobald
Eileen Davies	...	Ethel
Siria Betti	...	Hotel-Keeper
Giovanni Guidelli	...	Gino Carella
Anna Lelio	...	Perfetta
Luca Lazzareschi	...	Spiridione
Sergio Falasca	...	Carriage Driver

Alternativ:

Engel und Narren (Deutschland) [de]

Länge:

Germany:108 Min | Spain:112 Min | USA:116 Min

Produktionsland:

UK

Sprache:

Englisch | Italienisch

Farbe:

Farbe (Eastmancolor)

Tonverfahren:

Dolby

Altersfreigabe:

UK:PG | Ireland:PG | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:L | Australia:G | Germany:12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | USA:PG

Drehorte:

San Gimignano, Siena, Tuscany, Italy

Firma:

Compact Films

A decent if unspectacular adaptation

E. M. Forster has been extremely well served by the various film adaptations of his work over the past couple of decades. Certainly the least of them is Charles Sturridge's "Where Angels Fear to Tread". That's not to say it's a bad film, however, simply that it lacks the rich textures of Merchant-Ivory's Forster films, for example.

Although this was Forster's first novel, his customary concern was already in place: the familiar clash of class and culture, centred around the romantic individualist who valiantly attempts to transcend the geographical, sociological and spiritual boundaries that divide us from our fellow human beings. The outcome is sometimes tragic, as it is here, but always transformative, both for the individual concerned and those around him or her.

The star turn here is undoubtedly Helen Mirren's free-spirited Lilia Herriton, recently widowed and visiting Italy with the encouragement of her brother-in-law Philip (Rupert Graves), if not her other in-laws (Barbara Jefford and a prim, histrionic Judy Davis as Harriet). Her travelling companion is vicar's daughter Caroline Abbot (Helena Bonham Carter). All are aghast when Lilia falls in love not merely with Italy but with a young, working class Italian, Gino Carella (Giovanni Guidelli). When tragedy strikes, Philip and Harriet are dispatched to Tuscany to restore order, only for Philip to waver under the strain of his own romantic idealism.

I enjoyed "Where Angels Fear to Tread" despite a misjudged performance from Judy Davis, an inadequate one from Guidelli, and Sturridge's slightly uncertain handling which results at times in a jerky narrative flow. The production doesn't get nearly as close enough to the foreign culture that so intoxicates Lilia as the story demands. The saving grace is the wit and wisdom of Forster, of course, and the performances, not only of Mirren, but also of Graves and Bonham Carter, Forster veterans both and completely at home with this material. That's not to mention the wonderful Tuscan locations, which can hardly fail to charm.