I had never heard either of Virginia Wolf nor of Mrs Dalloway but my mum received a free DVD of this film with her daily newspaper ( a very common practice in the UK apparently ) so she gave me this on a recent visit to England and I thought "Why not" as I have always enjoyed Vanessa Redgrave in the films I have seen of her. I think that to appreciate fully this sort of film you need to be English or have lived many years in England. Much attention is given to recreating the period, the accents, the costumes and decors of the 1920's in that country and the result is truly remarkable. I can understand Americans and other foreigners not appreciating this as it is very far removed from their lifestyle. Also, the plot is rather tame ( I would have preferred more sex and passion ) but presumably the novel in question did not include this. I was also confused by the introduction of a "sub plot" whereby a WW1 soldier with shell shock married to an Italian wife commits suicide and couldn't understand the relation between this and Mrs Dalloway. In spite of these misgivings I actually felt pleasure watching the film. The actress who portrayed Clarissa Dalloway young, Natacha something-or-other, had subliminal beauty which reminded me of the great actresses of the 1940's, something you very rarely see nowadays, and I have always liked a great deal Michael Kitchen every time I have seen him in a film. I would therefore recommend the film to all those who like "period pieces" but would warn that the plot is rather tame and subdued and that if you are looking for passion, sex and romance you might be left disappointed, or at least hungering for more, especially as the ending is rather flat and unoriginal. As you can see, my feelings are rather mixed, there is good and bad but globally my appreciation will be positive, hence a rating of 7 !!

There's a certain type of 'art' film the English do very well and likely as not Vanessa Redgrave won't be far away - I can't wait til someone has the good sense to release A Month By The Lake on DVD so that I can write about it without having to rely on the memory of having seen it twice within one week on its initial and limited release. This is no exception and virtually everyone is to be congratulated for 'visualizing' a novel employing the 'streams-of-consciousness' technique at which Woolf was a a dab hand. It's a given - or it should be - that Vanessa Redgrave illuminates any stage or screen she cares to grace and here she catches beautifully the light-as-air slightly ethereal quality of Clarissa Dalloway in middle age preparing, at one level, for a party she will hold in the evening whilst reminiscing on another level about her youth and, among other things, the suitor she let get away in favor of the 'safer' Mr Dalloway. Redgrave is supported more than ably by some stalwarts of British TV and stage, oliver Ford Davis, Michael Kitchen, Amelia Bullmore, John Standing and Rupert Graves who, for once, is not so much precious as actually watchable. Surprisingly someone has put some thought into decor and color so that the overall result makes for a pleasant wallow in Charm, Sophistication and Style.

I kept waiting for the film to move me, inspire me, shock me, sadden me in some way but it stirred none of my emotions. It just meandered along to the end. None of the characters seemed very unique or complex, they just seemed like actors reciting their lines. I think it could have been a better movie if the characters expressed more emotion. The only one who did and was believable was the veteran and he probably committed suicide just to get out of the movie as soon as he could. It was a waste of talent, film, their time, and mine. If there is a message or meaning or genius in this story, it certainly is well-hidden or I am very dense, which I doubt.

Clarissa (Vanessa Redgrave and Natascha McElhone) is a shallow woman, divided between the love of his friend Peter Walsh and Richard Dalloway, a prominent young man from the upper class. Clarissa is showed in two periods: when she was a teenager and as an old lady, worried about parties. There is also a parallel plot of an honored English soldier, Septimus Warren Smith (Rupert Graves), showing the cold and insensible English system. The story is very shallow and boring. The reaction of the bored Peter Walsh, in old Clarissa's party in the end of the movie, when he says, `How boring are the English!' may be extended to `How boring is this movie!'. I never read Virginia Woof's novel and indeed, after watching `The Hours' and `Mrs. Dalloway', I certainly will not. However, there is a beautiful reconstitution of the period from the end of the Nineteenth Century to the after First World War, and a good performance of excellent actors and actress. Recommended only for fans of Virginia Woof and her novels. My vote is five.