Syl Mrs. Jean Harris is a smart, educated woman but she's made some bad choices in life. The film begins with the shooting death of her longtime lover, Dr. Herman "Hy" Tarnower," better known as the Scarsdale Diet Doctor and best selling author. First, I have to say that the casting of this film was perfect. I recognized many faces such as Cloris Leachman who played Hy's sister, Pearl; Nan Martin played his mother; Chloe Sevigny played Lynne Tryforos; and others. This case occurred in 1980 and Jean testified on her own behalf and refused to have an attorney slander Hy. In fact, that was probably the main reason that she got convicted and served time. This shouldn't be a spoiler since this is factual. Anyway, Annette Bening and Sir Ben Kingsley give believable performances as the doomed couple. There are plenty of wonderful appearances by Mary McDonnell, Brett Butler, Lee Garlington, Michael Gross, and Frances Fisher. Oh, I can't forget a brief appearance by Ellen Burstyn who played Jean in the early 1980s too.

funkyfry An extraordinarily talented cast gathered for director Phylis Nagy's made for TV crime and punishment opus. The results aren't astounding (like, for example, "Reversal of Fortune"), but it's certainly interesting as a character study.The story begins abruptly; rather than introduce the characters and setting, we are thrust into the primary "crime scene". Jean Harris (Annette Bening) confronts Dr. Herman Tarnower in his home and he urges her to sleep it off. Telling him that she drove 4 hours just to spend a few minutes with him, she produces a revolver and attempts to kill herself. In the process of attempting to stop her, the doctor is severely injured by 3 gunshot wounds. Once the "crime" is out of the way, the film goes back in time to fill us in on the background events that led to these events.My feelings about the film are mixed. The performances are solid, and Kingsley is worth watching in just about anything. He's got a very interesting character here – a total narcissist whose main virtue seems to be the fact that he's so open and honest about it. His crowded room of hunting trophies symbolizes rather blatantly his attitudes about life in general, and women in particular.He's not a very sympathetic character, but no matter how hard the film seems to try I just can't find Jean to be in the "right" here. First of all, I find the depiction of the crime which is shown later in the film based on the prosecution's evidence to be far more likely than the first version we're shown. Even allowing some room for the film to be ambiguous about its goals and giving them credit for showing the prosecution version, I think a number of factors tilt this film strongly in Jean's favor. Basically the film shows Jean as a victim of the doctor, particularly in that it asks us to accept that her depression and violent outburst are the result of her addiction to medication that Dr. Tarnower prescribed for her, and repeatedly reminds us that she took anything and everything he gave her based on faith. The film seems to ask us to hold the doctor responsible for her drug habit, which I find just as unpalatable as her story about the doctor being "accidentally" shot 3 times is untenable. Bening is a fine actress but she can't create pathos where none really belongs. The film is too heavy-handed in asking us to see things from her perspective, even going so far as to basically lampoon the doctor's living relatives and friends who doubt Jean's story and blame her for his death by directing these actors (including Cloris Leachman) in a ridiculous over-the-top manner.This film will hold your attention to the end of its running time, after which point you may feel as I did that you actually wasted your time. That's not to say it's a horrible film, it's just that the story is finally not convincing on a human level because Bening's character is too improbable to generate anything beyond curiosity.

MarieGabrielle and anyone with an IQ over 50 will agree about the results of this.A great story deracimated by a Hollywood studio (yet again) underestimating their audience.Annette Bening, Sir Ben Kingsley, Frances Fisher, Frank Whaley, and other talented artists again prove one thesis I have: The most perfect, flawless actor cannot transcend bad writing, and inferior product.This is proof. We need a re-make(soon). Mrs. Harris was a brilliant, over-achieving woman who had an obsessive relationship with Dr. Tarnower. The relationship was complex, and she surely did not act and speak like a brainless plebeian, as she is portrayed in this film. Nor, I am sure, was Tarnower as obviously repulsive. Why is it Hollywood has screenwriters who cannot comprehend intellectuals?. Perhaps they should read the New York Times Book Review at least one time a year, before they propose to understand people who grew up with education, writing, and achievement as a cornerstone, rather than as an aside to the Rolls Royce parked in the garage. Tiresome and ridiculous. 2/10. accomplishment.

Idioteck-1 ... Is among her best work: it is nuanced, studied and whip-smart. She has a flair for bone-dry humor that is on full display here.HBO continues to show that it is the go-to network for actresses over a certain age, providing them with some bravura roles. Jean Harris could have easily descended into caricature and vapidness, but Bening finds her heart.When I first saw that the film was being made (it was first made for television with Ellen Burstyn as Jean in 1980), I thought "why again?" but the filmmakers have proved their case: the film works on every level, but especially the performances. They are compulsively watchable.Her performance is expertly modulated and as the film unwinds she becomes very human: her crime is not such a surprise and her motives seem justified.The actresses interplay with Kingsley is a wonder to behold. If you are a fan of singular acting, this will be worth your while.Mary McDonnell, Philip Baker Hall, Brett Butler, Frances Fisher, Cloris Leachman and the original Harris, Burstyn, all show up for great cameos. This is not a film you will ever see in a theater, HBO has cornered the market on interesting, vital character studies.