The Lonely Widow

Author: T.D. (TX)

The Lonely Widow

A Miramax Films Production
Written and Directed by Mark Herman
Produced by Robert Fox and Scott Rudin
Cinematography by Andy Collins
Editing by Michael Ellis
Music by Philip Glass

Principal Cast
Julie Christie as Virginia Holt
Ewan McGregor as Geoffrey Holt
Jude Law as Calvin Holt
Kate Winslet as Priscilla Holt-Baddeley
and
Ian McKellen as Rupert Holt

Tagline: “He’s dead. They don’t know he’s dead. She has to tell them. And it won’t be easy.”

Synopsis:
*Virginia rises from the couch and goes into the kitchen to get some popcorn for her and Rupert. She comes back only to find his body lying still on the ground. Shocked and horrified, she puts the body on the couch and calls the constables. An hour later they came, took the body away and told her to get some rest. At midnight she was still awake and sitting on the couch. Alone and with no one to talk to, she looks around at the pictures of her and Rupert, and while doing so she glances over at a dusty frame lying flat down on the lamp table. She goes over, picks it up and sees her, Rupert and three other people. It’s been nearly 10 years since she’d last seen these three people, and she needed them at this time.*

Rupert and Virginia Holt have been married for 40 years. They have three children named Geoffrey, Calvin and Priscilla. They were a happy family; almost too good to be true. However, on the day of October 13th, 1999 their happy lives would shatter and fall apart as if someone had smashed a large mirror into their joyful life. On that fateful day, Calvin came out as a gay man during lunch. Rupert, who was an Anglican pastor, angrily told his son to get out of his home and his life. Calvin looked at his mother for support, but she just sipped her tea and said nothing. Calvin walked out and they never see him again. Priscilla was ashamed with her parents, and during their argument she told them she was going to marry Thomas Baddeley, a gardener who is an Atheist, behind their back. Rupert and Virginia forbid this marriage and they told her that if she walks out and marries him they will disown her. She walks out and they never see her again. Geoffrey, their eldest son, remained until late in the evening. During “family time” he told his parents that he was going to drop out of college and be a songwriter for a friend’s band. They both laughed at the idea of him writing “dirty and sinful” lyrics and told him he needed to stay at Cambridge to pursue a degree and follow in Rupert’s footsteps of carrying on the duties of being a pastor. After their lengthy fight Geoffrey stormed out and told his parents that he never wants to speak to them again.

*And that day was the last time Rupert would ever see his children. The next day he took down the pictures of his children and placed them in a shoebox. He misses one, however, and it was the framed family photo that Virginia took and placed face down on the lamp table.*

*Now she holds that picture in her hand and begins to cry. She has no one to be there for her. No one to talk to or feel love from, and now all she wants is her children back. Caring the photo with her across her chest she opens a phone book and finds the name “Baddeley, Thomas and Priscilla”. She dials the number and she hears a voice.

“Hello?”

“Priscilla Holt?”

“Yes? Who is this?”

“It’s me. Your mother.”*

What the Press would say:
And that synopsis is only the beginning of Mark Herman’s new film “The Lonely Widow”. This film is a remarkable and powerful story about a woman whose husband dies and in the bereavement calls her children back home after not seeing them for ten years. They each come home with stories and surprises but have little remorse for their father, a man who threw them out of his life, and no remorse for their mother, who stood by their father’s side. The screenplay is an outstanding and powerful piece in its own way and it captures every single detail and beauty of this little film. Herman, who has had such hit films in the past, has outdone himself by creating a visually stunning work of art with his direction. He manages to capture the right angles at the right time, and not only does he shine but so does his team who worked tirelessly to make this movie become a genuine masterpiece.

The cast, which consist of an elite group of actors and actresses, has done an outstanding job and will receive acclaim from the critics and audiences. Leading this extraordinary band of hard-working actors is Julie Christie, the film’s lead character. Christie plays Virginia Holt, a selfish and over-religious woman who watches her own children be thrown out by their father. Years later he dies and she’s all alone. She calls her children back home, and they do come but with no remorse for her, which makes her time with them uneasy and hard. Even with them back home she still feels alone, and she apologizes to them but the only thing they focus on is arranging Rupert’s funeral and leaving. Christie hits it out of the park with this role, and this performance is by far her best work to date. She manages to make us both hate and feel sorry for Virginia and she also captures the emotions and feelings at the right times.

Ian McKellen gives an extraordinary tour-de-force performance as Rupert Holt, an Anglican pastor who is strict, old-fashioned and deeply religious. He is also vain and ungrateful, but he hides this from others but not his family. He does not tolerate anything of what he calls “unholy”, and when something is “unholy”, he does not ignore it. That is why he threw his children out. One is gay, one wanted to marry an Atheist and one wanted to drop college for music. The gay one, who is magnificently played by Jude Law, is named Calvin and he was the first to leave and come back. He doesn’t hug his mother nor barely looks at her, and he tells her that he’s still gay and lives with a man who is HIV+ and takes care of him. Geoffrey, who is played by the talented Ewan McGregor, comes back next and he ignores his mother and hugs his brother. Geoffrey became a songwriter and has won a Song of the Year Grammy a few months ago, which surprises the family. Finally Priscilla, who is played by the gorgeous and hard-working Kate Winslet, comes home after dropping off the kids to Thomas, who has divorced her after 7 years of marriage. She too ignores her mother and hugs her siblings. All three delivered solid, Oscar-worthy performances as a gay man who lost his freedom, his job and everything he had to take of his dying lover, a songwriter who struggles with the constant traveling, leaving his girlfriend alone and not being able to enjoy a stable life, and a plus-size, divorced mother who’s in financial debt and tries to balance out life between work and being a mother of two.

This March, be prepared for a movie that will take your breath away. Herman’s “The Lonely Widow” will be a timeless classic that all will enjoy both now and in the future. It will leave you in tears, and most importantly it will leave you with an ending that will make you think if they had or had not forgiven their mother or father.

For Your Consideration
Best Picture
Best Motion Picture – Drama (GG)
Best Cast Ensemble (SAG)
Best Director – Mark Herman
Best Actress in a Leading Role – Julie Christie
Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Ian McKellen
Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Ewan McGregor
Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Jude Law
Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Kate Winslet
Best Original Screenplay
Best Film Editing
Best Original Score