When her husband's arrest leaves her penniless, a woman accepts an invitation to move in with a strange couple.
Acting
Adjani's wounded bird magnetism vs. Smith's acid-dipped politeness.
Production
1920s Paris so gorgeous you'll miss that it's suffocating.
Director
James Ivory
Isabelle Adjani
Marya 'Mado' Zelli
Maggie Smith
Lois Heidler
Alan Bates
H.J. Heidler
Anthony Higgins
Stephan Zelli
Suzanne Flon
Mme. Hautchamp
Sheila Gish
Anna
Daniel Chatto
Guy
Pierre Clémenti
Theo
Daniel Mesguich
Pierre Schlamovitz
Armelia McQueen
Nightclub singer
Virginie Thévenet
Madmoiselle Chardin
Muriel Montossé
Marjorie
Hélène Shirley
Adriana
Caroline Loeb
Nun
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Based on Jean Rhys's semi-autobiographical novel; she famously hated the adaptation for softening Marya's desperation.
Merchant Ivory's rare venture into genuine darkness—this is their 'Portrait of a Lady' before they got polite about it.
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