Meu Amor, Minha Perdição

A movie full of dramatic irony and beauty. I love Helena Bonham Carter and Paul Bettany. On screen, the characters are so believable that I forget that I am watching a movie. I'm transported to this world of war and snobbery, kite flying and poetry. And every twist in the plot basically rips my heart out or sends it soaring. It's so different from any other romance film that I've ever seen. The premise is familiar, but it's beautifully done. Definitely worth seeing. Keep a box of tissues nearby. This movie made me want to read more William Blake. Watch it, and you'll see why. Seriously. It is a film that grips the heart, wraps up the senses, and causes emotions to boil. Despite the poetry in the film, it is mainly a movie of action, of eyes, beautiful, intense eyes. See this movie.

Watchable but unsatisfying period piece, mistakenly listed on Amazon Prime as a current film; actually it's from 2002. Based on novelist Rosamond Lehmann's The Echoing Grove, which in turn was based on Lehmann's nine-year affair with poet Cecil Day-Lewis (father of Daniel). IRL Day-Lewis dumped both Lehmann and his wife and took up with actress Jill Balcon (mother of Daniel), which might've made a more interesting movie.

On-the-nose casting of Olivia Williams as the straitlaced, conventional sister and Helena Bonham-Carter as the unstable, bohemian sister ensures the best possible outcome for the creaky plot. Nice to see Elinor Bron (Dudley's Moore's unrequited crush in the original Bedazzled) again as the sisters' interfering mother. Paul Bettany does his best with the thankless role of the sisters' wavering husband/lover; the fact that he's so easily bamboozled by his mother-in-law suggests that Lehmann came away from all this with a poor opinion of C. Day-Lewis, which certainly seems understandable.

I was fortunate enough to see this film at the Toronto Film Festival and talk briefly with the Director afterwards.

"The Heart of Me" is a period piece set in London during the 1930s and 40s. It is a European-style film that takes the time to give exposition and background to the characters. It builds slowly and chooses substance over style. The mood is somber and much of the lighting and colour scheme reflects this in a similar manner to the Crow.

It is a drama with a few moments of levity. The three main leads are excellent. Helena Bonham Carter and Olivia Williams play sisters. Helena's character begins to fall in love with her brother-in-law played by Paul Bettany and they have an affair.

I was pleasantly surprised by Paul's acting. I've only seen him before in "A Knight's Tale" and "A Beautiful Mind" where he has played light-hearted best friend characters. His performance here was understated, subdued, and a change of pace from what I had previously seen. I didn't think he was capable of going head to head with Helena but he was.

If you like Merchant and Ivory films, then I think you would like this. It has the same feel as "Howard's End" and "Remains of the Day".

`The Heart of Me' is pure, unadulterated soap opera redeemed by the kind of high-toned, stiff-upper-lip seriousness of which the British seem uniquely capable. Set primarily in the 1930's, the film tells the story of two sisters caught in a passionate and quasi-incestuous love triangle. Madeline (Olivia Williams), the older of the two, is an uptight woman whose weak-willed husband, Rickie (Paul Bettany), falls in love with her younger and more free-spirited sibling, Dinah (Helena Bonham Carter). These two in-laws, soul mates for life, carry on a torrid love affair until Madeline discovers the truth – and even for a time thereafter.

Given the material, `The Heart of Me' could easily have devolved into a cheap, sensationalistic melodrama for the `Masterpiece Theatre' set. Instead, thanks to truly brilliant performances by the three principal actors and an intelligent, thoughtful screenplay, the film becomes a wholly absorbing drama that offers profound insights into the realities of the human heart. The pain each of these people experiences is so palpable in its intensity that it washes away all traces of artificiality and contrivance. The film becomes a fascinating study of what happens when clanging passions are hemmed in by the restrictions and proprieties of a strict, morally repressive upper class society. Rickie and Dinah choose to turn themselves into social pariahs, then must face the consequences of their convention-defying actions. Of most interest is the emotionally complex relationship between the two very different sisters. What makes the film special is the way in which it allows the seemingly cold-hearted Madeline to become as much a sympathetic figure as the two impassioned lovers. Thanks to Williams' impeccable performance (she played Penelope in the TV movie version of `The Odyssey'), Madeline is allowed to live and breathe and have her own say, making her, in many ways, the most intriguing of the three main characters.

`The Heart of Me,' which is beautifully detailed in costumes and settings, transcends the limits of its genre to deliver a heartbreaking tale of love, loss, lament - and hope.

This exquisitely crafted film is much better than what we have heard it was. The film has an incredible texture, but of course, it's not for everyone. Director Thaddeus O'Sullivan presents this story of love and betrayal with a style that is surprising. The material in which this film is based is the novel by Rosamond Lehmann, that shows a slice of the life in London among the upper classes in the 30s, prior to WWII and adapted for the screen by Lucinda Coxon.

The story of this love triangle involves Madeleine, a young society matron, married to Rickie, a successful bank executive. They entertain lavishly; it's obvious they know the right people, as it shows in their lavish parties. Dinah, Madeleine's sister is a loose cannon. She is a young woman who couldn't care less about being int the right places, or to mix with the right crowd.

Dinah and Rickie begin an affair. Rickie agonizes about the situation and how to handle it. Madeleine never gets a hint until Rickie reveals his intention of leaving her. Madeleine, without Rickie will lose it all, her status in society and all the other little perks. But she is not prepared to accept the idea that Dinah is the one who has lured Rickie away from her. The relationship among the three principals will never be the same.

Helena Bonham Carter plays Dinah with abandon. She's a no nonsense actress and she clearly gets into her character's skin. Olivia Williams is a staid and shocked Madeleine. Ms Williams is a beauty that epitomizes the type of English society woman naturally. Paul Bettany is convincing as Rickie, the man torn between love and duty. Eleanor Bron makes an excellent Mrs. Burkett.