# Guinevere (1999)

### reviewed by
Michael Dequina

    _Guinevere_ (R) *** (out of ****)

In recent years, onscreen romantic pairings of older men and much younger women have become more and more commonplace (Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow, Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones, to name two noteworthy examples). However, rarely, if ever, do films make an issue of vast age difference, even when the audience is slightly discomfited by the fact that these man can, indeed, be these women's fathers. _Guinevere_ is a film far removed from the Hollywood mainstream that perpetuates that trend, but its intelligent examination of the girl-man romantic dynamic is a refreshing change of pace.

No female character in _Guinevere_ actually shares her name with the legendary queen of Camelot, but the pet name is given to Harper Sloane (Sarah Polley), a directionless recent college graduate, by Connie Fitzpatrick (Stephen Rea), a photographer whom Harper meets at her sister's wedding. Connie is much older than Harper, and not exactly the most handsome man out there, but his way of making her feel special and wanted makes for the ultimate attraction. But as Harper soon finds out, she is only the latest in a long line of Guineveres.

Although the point of view of the film is distinctly female (the writer-director is a woman, Audrey Wells), _Guinevere_ doesn't stack the deck against Connie; in fact, the treatment of the relationship is surprisingly evenhanded. While there is no doubt that Connie takes advantage of Harper's youth and naivete, he also helps her and his past Guineveres find their ambition and direction in life (in Harper's case, photography). The extent to which he exploits the young women and that to which he helps them is left open to debate, but there is no doubt that the inspiration he gives his "students" is more than sexual.

But that doesn't mean there aren't darker edges to the character of Connie, and Rea, while always exhibiting a layer of vulnerability that is crucial to the film's success, also doesn't downplay the somewhat unsettling mystery about him. When Harper's uppity mother (Jean Smart) cuts him down in a most refined yet menacing manner (it's a terrific scene that could very well win Academy attention for Smart), while one hates her bitchy attitude, one can still see where the objections are coming from. But the film isn't called _Guinevere_ for nothing, and Polley is the clear standout of the impressive cast. Not only is she never less than convincing as both a a girl at the beginning and a woman at the end, she believably develops into the latter as the film progresses.

Unfortunately, Wells isn't able to come up with a wrapup that matches the impact of Harper's journey. The final scene is a nice and interesting one, but it seems a bit too sugary to really feel of a piece with the rest of _Guinevere_--which is smart and compelling enough as a whole to overcome that comparatively minor misstep.

Michael Dequina twotrey@juno.com | michael_jordan@geocities.com | jordan_host@sportsmail.com | mrbrown@iname.com Mr. Brown's Movie Site: http://welcome.to/mrbrown CinemaReview Magazine: http://www.CinemaReview.com on ICQ: #25289934 | on AOL Instant Messenger: MrBrown23

Get the Internet just the way you want it. Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month! Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj.

The review above was posted to the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due to ASCII to HTML conversion.

Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews