Director
Brian Gilbert
Leading Actors/Actresses
Willem Dafoe, Miranda Richardson
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Rosemary Harris
Genre
Historical Drama
Language
English
Awards
Academy Award nominated in 4 categories
Date of Release
1995
Producer
Mark Samuelson, Peter Samuelson
Setting and Context
Oxford and London, England, 1915-1947
Narrator and Point of View
Impartial narrator but the story seems to favor T.S.Eliot
Tone and Mood
Tragic and sad, emotionally awkward, cold and emotionless
Protagonist and Antagonist
Tom and Vivienne are both protagonist and antagonist to each other
Major Conflict
The conflict throughout is between Tom and Viv as they are ill suited and antagonistic. There is also conflict between Viv and her father as he doesn't like Eliot and feels a playwright cannot support his daughter sufficiently
Climax
Vivienne being committed to the mental asylum is the climax of the couple's ill feted marriage
Foreshadowing
Eliot's obvious fear of any emotion at all foreshadows the impending unraveling of their relationship once it becomes clear that Vivienne is emotionally volatile.
Understatement
Eliot is said to be frightened of emotions which understates his complete detachment from any emotions at all and his narcissistic icy brutality
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
No particular techniques involved in the filming
Allusions
Eliot's "The Wasteland" is alluded to during the movie as it was penned during this period of time
Paradox
Vivienne is portrayed as the over-emotional character when in reality Eliot was far more tending toward insanity and acted in a way that was wildly eccentric
Parallelism
No examples of parallelism
