Catherine Sloper (Jennifer Jason Leigh) was a chubby, bumbling only child. Her mother died in childbirth. Her father Dr. Austin Sloper (Albert Finney) is dismissive of her. He raised her along with her Aunt Lavinia Penniman (Maggie Smith). At her cousin Marian Almond (Jennifer Garner)'s engagement party, the socially awkward Catherine is introduced to Morris Townsend (Ben Chaplin) who seems to be actually interested in her. Her father assumes that Morris is more interested in her inheritance.The younger Jennifer Jason Leigh always brought an innocence to her characters. She sidelines her usual sass in this one and she is definitely no prostitute here. I think her character needs a plainer looking girl but JJL is terrific nevertheless. The acting is first rate from Finney and Maggie Smith. It's a little slow at times but these are compelling performances.

I found this movie by accident while browsing sky channels. I fell in love with it then, managed to watch it several times before i decided to buy. I dont know if it it touches all those who have felt betrayed or if katherine is so believable that the leaking eyes are for her!!I have recommended it to all my friends who enjoy a good weepy.The ending is not sad but gives me a sense of strength and survival,a kind of "good on ya Katherine" having read other reviews it amazes me how differently people experience the same movie. I had not read the book or seen the original, and i'm glad as i saw this with new eyes and loved it. A great night in with the kleenex!

I'm still not sure if I liked it or not. It was a good story. I'm still kind of confused about why they fell in love. I don't think that the characters were set up well enough, and that made it confusing in the beginning, and I spent a lot of time second-guessing the story. But I want to watch it again. It was interesting, and the ending was GOOD, just, not conventional. I recommend it.

It's interesting that a novel with no plot has become the basis for two films. While The Heiress was a good, if not entirely accurate, adaptation, Washington Square is a heavy-handed and poorly acted, except for the part of Dr Sloper, film that could have been so much better.The director's attempts at making 'beautiful' scenes were so obvious that I actually cringed. It has none of the understated and simple beauty that a movie with no plot can have, such as Onegin. I agree with other comments about Leigh's portrayal of Catherine as an idiot, instead of naive and shy; she made me despise her not feel for her.Catherine's transition from childlike trusting to adult cynicism, the whole point of the story, was internalised, just as it was in the novel. But we don't have the benefit of a narrative voice to tell us that in a film! I think someone skipped adaptation class at filmschool.I appreciate the director's attempts to make a moving and beautiful film out of a difficult text but it just didn't work.