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The Governess Reviews

Jane Campion Lite, with a Daphne du Maurier chaser. Rosina da Silva (Minnie Driver) is a privileged, 19th-century Englishwoman whose unconventional plans for her future are radically altered after her father is murdered. To help support her mother and younger sister, Rosina takes a position as a governess on a remote Scottish island, neglecting to tell her prospective employers that she's Jewish. Full of romantic expectations, Rosina -- now going by the more Christian-sounding "Mary Blackchurch" -- is sorely disappointed: The manor house is a damp and dreary pile. Rosina's charge, Clementina (Florence Hoath), is a spoiled, morbid child. The lady of the house (Harriet Walker) is frail and deeply unhappy, and reclusive scientist Mr. Cavendish (Tom Wilkinson) cares for little other than his work. Unable to stifle her natural curiosity, Rosina sneaks into Cavendish's laboratory and discovers that her employer is developing a rudimentary photographic process. Cavendish catches her, but charmed by her wit and intelligence, takes her on as his assistant and lover. First-time writer-director Sandra Goldbacher fills her film with the kind of Gothic trappings that can open a world of dramatic possibilities. It sometimes feels that anything could happen, and nearly everything does: No sooner does Goldbacher set up one situation than another comes barreling along, and nothing is dealt with in much depth. Drenched in blues and velvety blacks, and filled with the kind of period detail that made THE PIANO and PORTRAIT OF A LADY such visual dazzlers, Goldbacher's film is lovely to look at, but the blurry heart of the film only suffers by the comparison. Driver, fresh off her success in GOOD WILL HUNTING, makes for a winning heroine and proves she can carry a film with or without a hunky male costar.