Sarah Polley's Harper is beyond the requisite young, wide-eyed girl for Rea's older matured male. Nothing would tell this about Polley's character from the screenplay, it is all in the performance. Polley is one of the most important actresses under thirty. What Polley brings to her Harper character is a subtle supposition that no screenplay can easily evoke. Needless to say I was not blown away by Wells' screenplay to Guinevere , but I was by the performances.
Harper is a young, unaccomplished upper class girl.
But Connie takes the relationship beyond acquaintances, next thing we know, Harper has become his new artistic apprentice. The film is no masterpiece, it seems rather repetitive and runs a little long, but still I liked it, if not simply for Polley and Rea's performances. I know that I have gone on about Polley and how much I adore her, but Rea is also very good in this role, however undemanding it is. The film is nothing special, but I still liked it, at least up until the epilogue. When I see a children's films, I'm still looking for what makes up a good film, not whether or not children will like it.