Cast: Minnie Driver, Tom Wilkinson, Florence Hoath, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Harriet Walter, Arlene
Cockburn
Director: Sandra Goldbacher
Producer: Sarah Curtis
Screenplay: Sandra Goldbacher
Cinematography: Ashley Rowe
Music: Edward Shearmur
U.S. Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Before seeing The Governess, I never thought of Minnie Driver as a sex symbol. A good actress with charismatic screen presence, yes… but a sex symbol? In her previous films, she has often been paired off as the girlfriend of an attractive actor (Chris O'Donnell in Circle of Friends, John Cusack in Grosse Pointe Blank, Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting), but her characters have been more cute and bubbly than sexy. That has changed with The Governess, a period drama set in 19th century Great Britain. There is a sequence in this film, with Driver showing glimpses of flesh behind a silk scarf as she poses like Salome for a photographer, that is palpably erotic, and has given me an entirely new appreciation of the actress' range and charms.
Driver plays Rosina, a twenty-something Jewish girl living in London who has thus far eschewed a marriage so that she can pursue a career as an actress. When her father is murdered, her family is left in heavy debt and she must either marry a rich man or seek employment. Unwilling to sell herself into a loveless union, she applies for a position as the governess of a girl living on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. And, because a woman of solid Christian values is sought, she assumes the pseudonym of Mary Blackchurch, and uses her acting skills to disguise herself as a "Gentile and a gentlewoman." Her application is readily accepted.
Rosina soon finds herself in a strange land, surrounded by people with bizarre customs. Not only do the Gentiles make her uneasy, but she finds the green, wide-open spaces of Scotland disconcerting. "I long for cities and chimneys," she remarks in a voiceover narration. Her employers are the Cavandishes. Mrs. Cavendish (Harriet Walter) is a relentlessly proper woman whose chief characteristics are prudishness and humorlessness. In Rosina's words, she's seems like "she has a lemon up her posterior." Mr. Cavendish (Tom Wilkinson) is a mysterious man who spends nearly all of his waking hours working on a project in his laboratory. Rosina's charge, 13 year-old Clementina (Florence Hoath), is a "rodent in lace" who is quickly subdued by a few pointed threats. Then there's Clementina's older brother, Henry (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers), who is almost immediately infatuated by the governess.
Rosina's natural curiosity leads her to explore Cavendish's laboratory. There she finds that he is experimenting with a new process called photography. Soon, the two are working as a team to find the critical agent that will allow the images captured by the camera to remain permanent. Cavendish and Rosina look upon photography from different perspectives. She sees it as a window into life, a chance "to capture the essence of people and to fix a memory." He sees it as a tool, an opportunity "to make a scientific record of reality." Initially, he resists taking a picture of Rosina, but eventually she wears him down, and, the more she bares herself to the camera, the more deeply Cavendish falls under her spell, even though he resists his own feelings every step of the way.
Although The Governess offers an exploration of the creative process, it's more effective when examining Rosina's sense of isolation as she ventures unprotected into a foreign culture. While the lead character's Jewishness could have easily been relegated to background color or a plot device used to generate last-act melodrama, first-time writer/director Sandra Goldbacher shuns such easy approaches, opting instead to use Rosina's heritage as a defining element of her character. Much credit must go to Minnie Driver, who brings Rosina to life as a woman of great courage and even greater passion.
Playing opposite her is Tom Wilkinson, an actor of astonishing range. Wilkinson, who is probably best known for his role as the eldest member of the dance troupe in The Full Monty, actually shows the Full Monty here in a rare display of frontal male nudity. Supporting players include Harriet Walter (Sense and Sensibility) and the young, captivating Florence Hoath (Fairytale).
The Governess is solidly entertaining material with enough substance to lift it above the traditional period drama. Goldbacher's script takes the time to develop each of the major characters, which allows the climax and denouement to have greater impact. In addition to flawless acting by Driver and Wilkinson, the film is highlighted by Ashley Rowe's sumptuous photography. The Governess is far more absorbing than one might guess from the accurate, if plain, title.
© 1998 James Berardinelli