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The Bostonians

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VHS Tape Cover Information

Edition: VHS Tape
Running Time: 120 unknown-units
Published: 1985
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Publisher: Vestron Video
Studio: Vestron Video

VHS Movie Reviews of The Bostonians

Movie Review: "Will you be my friendly friend forever and ever?"
Summary: 4 Stars

Set in 1875, this Merchant-Ivory film focuses on the post-Civil War intellectual community of Boston and Cambridge, bringing to life the suffragist movement, which passionately involved many of its women. Verena Tarrant (Madeleine Potter) is a beautiful and charming young woman who draws large, paying crowds to hear her speak about "the just revolution," which would free women from their second class status. Though Verena describes herself as "only a girl, a simple American girl," her strength as a speaker quickly brings her to the attention of Olive Chancellor (Vanessa Redgrave), an older woman whose dedication to the movement, and eventually to Verena, is single-minded and all-consuming.

When Verena moves in with the overly protective Olive, Olive wants her to promise that she will never marry, but the inevitable happens. Basil Ransom (Christopher Reeve), Olive's cousin, arrives from the south, and is immediately smitten by Verena. Soon Verena must face the conflicts between her loyalties toward Olive and the movement, and her growing love for Basil.

The script by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, based on the novel by Henry James, brings the passionate commitment of the suffragists to life, and the direction by James Ivory shows the pervasive effects of the movement on both men and women, from Harvard students to elderly matriarchs and pioneering female doctors. The costumes, which were nominated for an Academy Award, and the settings in Boston's Back Bay drawing rooms and shore-side summer homes give a liveliness and reality to the period which James's own intricate, philosophical prose sometimes lacks. Supporting roles by Jessica Tandy, Linda Hunt, Wally Shawn, and Nancy Marchand add power and dramatic intrigue to the emotional tug-of-war for the soul of Verena.

Redgrave won an Academy Award nomination for her role as Olive, a woman whose need for the naive and somewhat simple Verena is overwhelming. Her fear of being alone, her jealousy of the men who court Verena, and her desire to use Verena to advance her own suffragist message are beautifully acted. Madeleine Potter effectively conveys Verena's innocence, her almost child-like nature, and her growing awareness that she has some freedoms that she has never explored. Reeve, with his southern accent, is a bit difficult to understand at times, and his love scenes with Verena are wooden, lacking the spark which would have made them seem real. A fascinating period piece, the film lacks the philosophical depth of the novel but gains greatly in drama. Mary Whipple

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Summary of The Bostonians

Original Video release by Vestron Video ~~~~~~~ Amazon.com Before their breakthrough successes with A Room with a View, Howards End, and The Remains of the Day, the Merchant-Ivory filmmaking team refined their literary adaptation skills with this 1984 drama, adapted from the classic novel by Henry James. Although the film can only begin to approximate the internal dialogues that make up much of James's fascinating fiction, it retains the central conflict of the post-Civil War drama, which takes place just as women are beginning their struggle for equality. The story involves a triangle of conflicting relationships, in which a repressed lesbian (Vanessa Redgrave) engages in a subtle, unspoken tug-of-war with a Southern lawyer (Christopher Reeve) for the affections of a young woman (Madeleine Potter) who is just coming into her own as a young suffragette. Although the film is slow and dry compared to Merchant-Ivory's later efforts, it's eminently respectable (as you might expect) and is highlighted by Redgrave's superb, Oscar-nominated performance as the story's feminist heroine. The supporting cast is equally impressive, and includes Jessica Tandy, Linda Hunt, Wallace Shawn, and Wesley Addy. --Jeff Shannon

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The Bostonians

The Bostonians

VHS Tape Cover Information

VHS Movie Reviews of The Bostonians

Movie Review: "Will you be my friendly friend forever and ever?"Summary: 4 Stars

Summary of The Bostonians

Movie Review: "Will you be my friendly friend forever and ever?"
Summary: 4 Stars