Relative Values

Director Styles follows Dreaming of Joseph Lees with another '50s British setting and, more broadly, another depiction of the complications of romance and marriage. The eligible Earl of Marshwood (Atterton) is expected to marry within his class. His plan, therefore, to wed Hollywood starlet Miranda Frayle (Tripplehorn) is met with consternation. His doting mother, the Countess (Andrews), is advised by friends not to allow her corner of England to be sullied; her personal maid reveals that she's Miranda's long-lost sister and terrified lest their disparate circumstances be made plain; and the staff of Marshwood Hall are dizzy at the prospect of meeting a Hollywood actress. Near-hysteria builds when Don Lucas (Baldwin), a bigshot actor and Miranda's former lover, turns up wanting her back. Based on Noël Coward's satire of class-ridden post-war Britain, this is undemanding, but somewhat enlivened by sharp moments of contemporary relevance. Unfortunately, the hidden depth and compassion of Coward's play only occasionally surfaces.