This period piece by Polish director Agnieszka Holland is one of her most successful Hollywood ventures. It’s the second film adaptation of the Henry James novel, but strikes a very different, more feminist and acutely observed, note than William Wyler’s The Heiress, its gaudy 1949 predecessor.

Catherine (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is the plain and socially awkward daughter of wealthy Dr Austin Sloper (Albert Finney). Sloper came into his fortune by marrying a rich woman whose death giving birth to Catherine has permanently embittered him against her. Read More »

Marya finds herself penniless after her art dealer husband, Stephan, is convicted of theft. Marya accepts the hospitality of a strange couple, H.J. and Lois Heidler, who lets her live in their house. Read More »