In 1949, composer Roman Strauss is executed for the murder of his wife. In 1990s Los Angeles, a detective comes across a mute amnesiac woman who is somehow linked to the Strauss murder.
Acting
Branagh and Thompson's electric dual-role chemistry.
Direction
Branagh's bold black-and-white 1949 sequences.
Editing
Seamless cuts between eras that disorient delightfully.
Director
Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Branagh
Roman Strauss / Mike Church
Emma Thompson
Margaret Strauss / Grace
Derek Jacobi
Franklyn Madson
Andy Garcia
Gray Baker
Wayne Knight
Pete Dugan
Robin Williams
Cozy Carlisle
Richard Easton
Father Timothy
Jo Anderson
Sister Madeleine / Starlet
Hanna Schygulla
Inga
Campbell Scott
Doug O'Malley
Christine Ebersole
Lydia Larsen
Vasek Simek
Otto Kline
John Gould Rubin
Cafe Owner
Miriam Margolyes
Hypnotism Patient
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Robin Williams insisted on going uncredited for his scene-stealing turn as the disgraced psychiatrist Cozy Carlisle, reportedly to avoid overshadowing the leads.
Branagh shot the 1949 sequences in black-and-white as an homage to Hitchcock's 'Rebecca' and 'Spellbound,' directly invoking the master's obsession with memory and identity.
US
