The Bostonians

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's finely honed script cuts through both Henry James' cynicism and the dense jungle of his prose to reveal a story of unexpected passion, a love triangle set against the early stirrings of the suffragette movement in late 19th century Boston. The core of the film is the battle between shy, intense proto-feminist and struggling, reactionary lawyer for the love, and allegiance, of a young girl who also happens to be a formidably gifted orator. At times too decorous, too slow for its own good, it is given guts by intense, acutely observed performances from Reeve and Redgrave.