writers_reign There's a certain type of 'art' film the English do very well and likely as not Vanessa Redgrave won't be far away - I can't wait til someone has the good sense to release A Month By The Lake on DVD so that I can write about it without having to rely on the memory of having seen it twice within one week on its initial and limited release. This is no exception and virtually everyone is to be congratulated for 'visualizing' a novel employing the 'streams-of-consciousness' technique at which Woolf was a a dab hand. It's a given - or it should be - that Vanessa Redgrave illuminates any stage or screen she cares to grace and here she catches beautifully the light-as-air slightly ethereal quality of Clarissa Dalloway in middle age preparing, at one level, for a party she will hold in the evening whilst reminiscing on another level about her youth and, among other things, the suitor she let get away in favor of the 'safer' Mr Dalloway. Redgrave is supported more than ably by some stalwarts of British TV and stage, oliver Ford Davis, Michael Kitchen, Amelia Bullmore, John Standing and Rupert Graves who, for once, is not so much precious as actually watchable. Surprisingly someone has put some thought into decor and color so that the overall result makes for a pleasant wallow in Charm, Sophistication and Style.

beaglesrbest I kept waiting for the film to move me, inspire me, shock me, sadden me in some way but it stirred none of my emotions. It just meandered along to the end. None of the characters seemed very unique or complex, they just seemed like actors reciting their lines. I think it could have been a better movie if the characters expressed more emotion. The only one who did and was believable was the veteran and he probably committed suicide just to get out of the movie as soon as he could. It was a waste of talent, film, their time, and mine. If there is a message or meaning or genius in this story, it certainly is well-hidden or I am very dense, which I doubt.

gaiter88 This is a beautiful little film, which portrays the book admirably. When put up against its counterpart in The Hours I think it compares favourably. For sure it is a much smaller film in both stature and actor profiles, but this does not make it worse, in fact quite the contrary.The English cast do a great job, on this essentially English story, with strong performances all around, notably from the leads from both eras. It is nicely shot, and the script has been well managed, and achievement for a Virginia Woolf novel.I often find myself trying to pick out flaws in films like this, but the only possible complaint I can think of is the lack of continuity in height ratio between the leads over the two eras, petty some might say, and actually a small price you might expect to pay when you cast the wonderful Vanessa Redgrave.I can't help feel sorry for those people who don't get this film. If Virginia Woolf isn't your cup of tea fair enough, but to think this and therefore the book is boring can only mean a lack of understanding or appreciation of Woolf's views on the point of life.In essence when I watched this film it charmed me for an hour and a half, and then when it was finished left me questioning the value of my life, and important decision I had made, and was yet to make, which if you have ever read it is exactly what the book does.

roy_wood Like most of Virginia Woolf's literary output, I appreciated the film-version of "Mrs. Dalloway" more than I enjoyed it. There are flashes of blinding beauty in this movie, however, the film's "sum" is not equal to its "parts". Of course, Vanessa Redgrave continues to astound me with her talent. And ---yes, the film is beautifully made and attention to period detail is evident. And --- yes, parts of the story are very heart-rending. Yet.... why does this film satisfy me but not move me? Like a guest at one of Mrs. Dalloway's parties, I am more impressed with the effort that went into the production than the product itself.