good performances but otherwise lacking

Rating: 4/10 (5 October 2003)

*SPOILERS*
I thought the acting in this film was excellent, but as for everything else...the movie really made me angry. I understand that there were a lot of issues with repressed sexuality back in the Victorian era...but the movie was not MADE in the Victorian era. Holly Hunter is depicted as completely helpless, and the men in her life are both complete jerks. The viewer is supposed to believe that she loves Harvey Keitel's character...meanwhile, he has her trading sexual favors in order to get her piano from him, which never should have been his to begin with! Her husband seems like a decent enough guy until he find out about the affair, and one can't really blame him for being angry since his wife basically refuses to come anywhere near him, though his subsequent behavior is inexcusable. Other elements of the story, such as the relationship between Holly Hunter and Anna Paquin's father and the reasons behind Holly Hunter's muteness, were either underdeveloped or unexplained altogether. All in all, the performances are good, and Anna Paquin's performance in particular is riveting, but the film still irritated me.