Mrs. Dalloway

"A woman’s past unlocks the truth buried within her soul."

1997 1h 37m EN

😐

5.7

MID

🍅

71%

FRESH

⭐

6.5

IMDB

★5.7TMDB · 76🍅71%Rotten Tomatoes★6.5IMDB · 4,306

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Clarissa Dalloway looks back on her youth as she readies for a gathering at her house. The wife of a legislator and a doyenne of London's upper-crust party scene, Clarissa finds that the plight of ailing war veteran Septimus Warren Smith reminds her of a past romance with Peter Walsh. In flashbacks, young Clarissa explores her possibilities with Peter.

“A woman’s past unlocks the truth buried within her soul.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Vanessa Redgrave
Mrs. Clarissa Dalloway
Natascha McElhone
Young Clarissa
Michael Kitchen
Peter Walsh
Alan Cox
Young Peter
Sarah Badel
Lady Rosseter
Lena Headey
Young Sally
John Standing
Richard Dalloway
Robert Portal
Young Richard

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Marleen Gorris
Writers: Eileen Atkins
Languages: English
Countries: Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

29 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Marleen Gorris, shot by Sue Gibson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Ilona Sekacz. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Michiel Reichwein shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Vanessa Redgrave and Natascha McElhone and Michael Kitchen carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A woman’s past unlocks the truth buried within her soul.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0119723 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Marleen Gorris directs. Sue Gibson behind the camera. Ilona Sekacz scores. Michiel Reichwein cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

129 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2International production across 3 countries: Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States of America.
3Directed by Marleen Gorris, shot by Sue Gibson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Ilona Sekacz. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Michiel Reichwein shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Vanessa Redgrave and Natascha McElhone and Michael Kitchen carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "A woman’s past unlocks the truth buried within her soul.".
8IMDB entry: tt0119723 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 76 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Sue Gibson
Original score: Ilona Sekacz
Editing: Michiel Reichwein
Production design: David Richens
Costume design: Judy Pepperdine
Makeup / hair: Jane Body
Runtime: 97 min · 1h 37m
Status: Released
Box office: $3,309,421
Original language: EN
Certification (US): 14A
IMDB: Mrs. Dalloway (1997)
Rotten Tomatoes: 71% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 6.5/10 · 4,306 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

2 wins & 1 nomination

Also by

Marleen Gorris

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-07-17
★ 6/10
It's the morning of her party, and the eponymous "Clarissa" (Vanessa Redgrave) is a little apprehensive. She's married to a politician (John Standing) who has jilted her for luncheon on this important day, so she sets off to buy some flowers then returns to find she has an unexpected visitor. "Peter" (Michael Kitchen) and she have some history, and as the day unfolds we learn a little of just how that played out thanks to some flashbacks with Alan Cox and Natascha McElhone as their younger selves. These depict the build up to decisions and choices that maybe one, or both, wish now had been made differently. We are also offered a softly dramatised glimpse of the political environment that prevailed in Britain shortly after the end of the Great War. The landed gentry now struggling to maintain their previous degrees of influence, the increasing role of women - the changing political landscape, the end of deference are all woven into the fabric as the party looms and it's hostesss stresses. In parallel, there is the far more interesting storyline developing with a convincing Rupert Graves as the shell-shocked "Septimus Warren Smith". He's returned from the war struggling with any sort of re-adjustment to peacetime life and that's causing considerable distress for his wife (Amelia Bullmore) that isn't really being helped by psychiatrist "Sir William Bradshaw" (Robert Hardy). Generally, this is a grand looking drama featuring an who's who of established British talent, but the effort from Redgrave borders a little on the soporific and aside from the emotionally charged scenes with Graves, the whole pace of the film struggles to get out of second gear as it meanders along offering us a rather lacklustre observation of the lives of people in whom, mostly, I had little interest. It's perfectly watchable and is the kind of film we Brits do well, but it's a bit lightweight on the character front.
CinemaSerf2024-07-17
★ 6/10
It's the morning of her party, and the eponymous "Clarissa" (Vanessa Redgrave) is a little apprehensive. She's married to a politician (John Standing) who has jilted her for luncheon on this important day, so she sets off to buy some flowers then returns to find she has an unexpected visitor. "Peter" (Michael Kitchen) and she have some history, and as the day unfolds we learn a little of just how that played out thanks to some flashbacks with Alan Cox and Natascha McElhone as their younger selves. These depict the build up to decisions and choices that maybe one, or both, wish now had been made differently. We are also offered a softly dramatised glimpse of the political environment that prevailed in Britain shortly after the end of the Great War. The landed gentry now struggling to maintain their previous degrees of influence, the increasing role of women - the changing political landscape, the end of deference are all woven into the fabric as the party looms and it's hostesss stresses. In parallel, there is the far more interesting storyline developing with a convincing Rupert Graves as the shell-shocked "Septimus Warren Smith". He's returned from the war struggling with any sort of re-adjustment to peacetime life and that's causing considerable distress for his wife (Amelia Bullmore) that isn't really being helped by psychiatrist "Sir William Bradshaw" (Robert Hardy). Generally, this is a grand looking drama featuring an who's who of established British talent, but the effort from Redgrave borders a little of the soporific and aside from the emotionally charged scenes with Graves, the whole pace of the film struggles to get out of second gear as it meanders along offering us a rather lacklustre observation of the lives of people in whom, mostly, I had little interest. It's perfectly watchable and is the kind of film we Brits do well, but it's a bit lightweight on the character front.