This is a nuanced domestic tragedy, apparently incomprehensible for a great percentage of professional reviewers. It is not a period costume piece as some of them concluded, unless in the same category we include all Shakespeare and the Greek tragedies. It involves the interaction of two sisters and the man married to one of them. It is very well acted by the three protagonists and superbly photographed. The story occurs before and after WW II, so in addition drama happening inside four walls there are outside events that affect the characters. Available free on Tubi, so if you find out it doesn’t talk to you, easy to switch to something else.

I thought this movie was excellent and all that you'd expect from a BBC period production. The actors were marvelous and rendered all their charactors very well. The story didn't turn out as I wanted but it was classy and compelling to the very end. Well worth watching.

I thought this movie was lame.

How did I miss this gem? Was it originally broadcast on television? Paul Bettany, in one of his strongest roles, makes adultery seem delicious in this period drama. The complicated love story involving sisters reminded me of Atonement (2007), a universal favorite. The love triangle with Helena Bonham Carter also reminded me of Wings of the Dove, a Merchant/Ivory production and a personal favorite of mine. I viewed a DVD from Netflix.

Unnecessary tale about the passions of two boring Brits. It's hard to feel anything for them, certainly not sorry. Especially Bonham Carter is annoyingly unsympathetic.

Wonderful performances.

Decent, but so predictably corny.

All the things left usaid, all the things we are told, all the things we don't know... Nobody should have or imagine they have the right to come between two people who love each other.

what an intense love story....... it really made me think in the end.... does love and relationships have a boundary? is everything fair in love?

It was well done but damn what a depressing story. I felt so bad for Ricky and would have liked to have seen some kind of happier ending. Then again he was a cheater so maybe he didn't deserve one.

Very well acted period drama, but the books plot feels very ordinary for modern day cinema standards.

1 man, 2 sisters: painful and strained romantic ping pong ensues. A bit frustrating to see this story unfold, culminated in a slightly unsatisfying ending.

Olivia Williams kills it in this movie (what else do you expect from her), but everyone else is just... meh.

I love this movie to bits. Im a major Helena Bonham Carter fan and I've heard that this is one of her best movies. Its so moving and powerful that I ended up crying throughout it, which I have never done before in my life with any other movies! The acting is brilliant! You couldn't of got a better cast to play each role and the script they go by is beautifully written. This is a must have movie that'll send shockways through you!

The story is rather simple: Two sisters, one man. Madeleine (Olivia Williams) is very correct and is quite properly married to a man (Rickie - Paul Betany) more for appearance than for (gasp) passion. Her sister Dinah (Helena Bonham Carter) comes to visit their proper home and is immediately attracted physically to Rickie. Dinah and Rickie begin an affair that results in a pregnancy. Madeleine discovers the affair but decides to remain married to Rickie because divorce is unseemly. Rickie copes with severe ulcer disease and in the course of events the girls' mother (Eleanor Brun) has her daughter Dinah leave the scene of the sham marriage. Dinah gives birth to a stillborn girl and attempts to stay away from Rickie and her family by moving to Southern France with her girlfriend chum Bridie (Alison Reed). Tragedies upon tragedies occur as only they can in the British dramas - misinformation abounds, love persists, trysts recur - and the conclusion of the film shows at least a glimpse of resolution of this tangled family dilemma. The photography is splendid: London is foggy, the coasts are wispy and cold, the interiors are moody. The acting is absolutely first rate from everyone, but the two sisters radiate WW II England in the best of fashion. Helena Bonham Carter as rarely looked more beautiful or acted so convincingly and the same is true for Olivia Williams. And despite the conflicted cad Paul Betany is asked to portray he gives a subtle performance that suggests we will see much more of him. The bonus selections on the DVD are additive.

Cliche, plus huge leaps in time that aren't resolved very well. The acting was disappointing.

didn't like the ending

Every now and again I like to pluck a random film out of obscurity in the hope that I will stumble across a true gem. Unfortunately, despite ticking lots of my favourite boxes this wasn't to be :( For some reason I just couldn't connect to the characters, then because I really didn't care for them I couldn't get involved with what was happening and so it all left me a bit cold! Shame :( It wasn't entirely bad, I quite liked the way the film darted between the past and present and Paul Bettany was, as always, fantastic to watch.

The two stars and a half I gave for this movie are mainly for the dazzling performance of Olivia Williams and Paul Bettany.

ES ESPECTACULAR AUNQUE TRIXTE TIENE TODO LO UNA BUENA PELICULA DE LOS AÑOS 30 ROMANTICA Y DRAMATICA NECESITA