Washington Square

Director: Agnieszka Holland Agnieszka Holland

Overview

In NYC of 1850, 26-year-old Catherine has no social standing but is due a substantial inheritance. Impoverished Morris begins courting Catherine, but her wealthy father thinks that he may be after her for financial reasons. Catherine doubts her father's suspicions but later realizes that they may be valid.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/02/2019
UPC:	0738329232313
Original Release:	1997
Rating:	PG
Source:	Kl Studio Classics
Region Code:	1
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:55:00
Sales rank:	49,378

Special Features

Audio Commentary by Director Agnieszka Holland; Theatrical Trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Jennifer Jason Leigh	Catherine Sloper
Albert Finney	Dr. Austin Sloper
Ben Chaplin	Morris Townsend
Maggie Smith	Aunt Lavinia Penniman
Judith Ivey	Mrs. Elizabeth Almond
Betsy Brantley	Mrs. Montgomery
Jennifer Garner	Marian Almond
Peter Maloney	Jacob Webber/Notary
Robert Stanton	Arthur Townsend
Arthur Laupus	Mr. Almond
Nancy Daly	Maureen/Maid
Sara Ruzicka	Catherine Sloper (Age 11)
Rachel Layne Sacrey	Sarah Almond (Age 16)
Rachel Osborne	Alice Almond (Age 17)
Scott Jaeck	John Ludlow
Lauren Hulsey	Edith
Sara Constance Marshall	Therese/Maid
Marissa Anna Muro	Paris Singer
Loretto McNally	Midwife
Eva Jean Berg	Sloper's Cook
David Hildebrand	Engagement Party Pianist
James J. Waltz	Engagement Party Singer
Peter Klaus	Engagement Party Guest
Jack Lilley	Carriage Driver
Janet Paparazzo	Guillotine Victim
Jan A.P. Kaczmarek	Composer

Technical Credits

Carol Doyle

Agnieszka Holland	Director
Carol Doyle	Screenwriter
Julie Bergman Sender	Producer
Roger Birnbaum	Producer
Randy Ostrow	Executive Producer
Janet Paparazzo	Stunts
Douglas Retzler	Special Effects
Jeff Ward	Stunts
Debra Zane	Casting

Editorial Reviews

After the critical lashing she received for Total Eclipse, Agnieszka Holland takes another, more successful stab at the period piece, this time adapting Henry James for the screen. Too many films based on classic literature risk brittleness in their attention to historical detail, but Holland and first-time screenwriter Carol Doyle present James' world as not so very different from our own. The tangled financial, familial, and romantic motivations that drive the plot would work in almost any time period, but the filmmakers include just enough Victorian social anthropology to differentiate the material from its contemporary equivalent. Jennifer Jason Leigh brings her usual meticulous technique to a less showy role than she usually fills. The interest lies not in her character's tics or instabilities, but in the way Leigh subtly demonstrates Catherine's evolution -- from clumsy girl to love-struck teen to grave, mournful, yet joyfully resolute woman. As Morris Townsend, Ben Chaplin makes an effective heartthrob; the character's mixture of noble ideals and callow grasping seems completely natural in his competent hands. The rest of the fine cast is led by the esteemed Albert Finney, as Catherine's conflicted father, but the best job comes from the reliable Maggie Smith, who turns in yet another hilarious supporting role, this time as Lavinia Penniman, Catherine's fretful, widowed aunt.