Washington Square 1997 Review

Review: Washington Square (1997)

Cast: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Albert Finney, Ben Chaplin, Maggie Smith

Director: Agnieszka Holland

Producers: Roger Birnbaum, Julie Bergman Sender

Screenplay: Carol Doyle based on the novel by Henry James

Cinematography: Jerzy Zielinski

Music: Jan A.P. Kaczmarek

Catherine’s Square?

Agnieszka Holland’s adaptation of Washington Square is a remarkable and touching story of a young woman who after years of living in a golden cage is awakened by great love and finally makes an attempt to regain control over her own life. However, all those who expect to see another naпve Hollywood story of a Snow White saved by a prince are bound to be highly disappointed. Holland’s interpretation, although not entirely faithful to the novel pays full tribute to Henry James who certainly was not a great fan of easy answers and characters painted in black and white.

The action of the movie takes place in the 1850s in New York. The characters belong to the American upper class and have their homes situated in the most exclusive part of the city, Washington Square. The main character is Catherine a young, unattractive, incredibly shy and not particularly bright woman played by Jennifer Jason Leigh. Her Father, Austin Sloper (Albert Finney), a renowned doctor who cannot stop blaming Catherine for the death of her mother is a tyrannical figure who uses his social position and money to control everything and everyone around him. He openly demonstrates his disappointment with Catherine’s lack of wit, beauty and grace. His lack of acceptance and constant ridiculing only deepen his daughter’s apprehensiveness and put her on a straight way to becoming a spinster. However, everything changes when during a party Catherine meets her incredibly handsome and charming distant cousin, Morris (Ben Chaplin), who also happens to be penniless. The young man starts to court Catherine and wins her heart. Nevertheless, as Catherine is to inherit a huge fortune her father immediately concludes that the young gentleman seduced and wants to merry his daughter only to guarantee himself a luxurious life. At that point Catherine who has always blindly obeyed her father has to choose between the loyalty to Dr. Sloper and her love to Morris.

One of the strongest elements of the movie is its quick pace. Holland quite smoothly presents the past of the characters using short but very telling scenes. In fact, she managed to present the complex relations between the father and his daughter using just two scenes. The first one is the scene of Caherine’s mother’s death while giving birth to Catherine, in which we see Dr Sloper completely preoccupied with his wife’s dead body and not paying any attention to his newly born daughter. The second one is Catherine’s first public performance as a teenager in which she breaks under the pressure and is not able to utter a word and her father does not even look slightly surprised or sorry for his daughter.

The costumes greatly add to the atmosphere of the movie almost teleporting the viewers to the nineteenth century. The role of costumes is especially important in the portraying of Catherine. By observing her changing style of clothing the viewer becomes more aware of the gradual changes in the interior of the main heroine. From a girl famous for her extravagant choice of dresses she gradually changes into an elegant lady. That additional information makes it easier for the viewers to observe the great change undergoing in the mentality of the heroine and partly compensate to the viewers the fact that contrary to the readers of Henry James’s book they do not have an access to inner thoughts of the heroine.

The music in the movie is also crucial to our knowledge about Catherine’s state of mind and inner development. Her capability to become more and more independent is reflected in her capacity to perform music in public. At the beginning of the movie she cannot even sing in front of others. Then, after practicing with Morris she is able to finally play and sing in front of her father.