Cast: Helena Bonham Carter, Linus Roache, Alison Elliott
Director: Iain Softley
Rating:
Enetertainment Quotient: 30%
Genre: Drama/Romance
Running time: 102 minutes
MPAA rating: R for sexuality

Synopsis:
This film is an adaptation of a novel. The story is set against the backdrop of early 1930’s in England. Merton Densher (Linus Roacher) is a journalist with a middle class income. Kate Croy (Helena Bonham Carter) is in love with him and they want to get married. However, Kate’s aunt does not approve their love because Merton is not rich. She tries to match make with a wealthy man.

Millie Theale (Alison Elliott) is the richest orphan in the world and is very beautiful. But she is dying of cancer. Kate befriends her and comes to know about her ailment through some other sources. She hatches a plan and asks Merton to seduce Millie into love so that he could inherit all her money. With that money, they could marry after Millie has passed away. The rest of the story is all about the emotional entanglement between these three hearts.

What I really liked in the film?
Though Kate and Merton initially try to cheat Millie for her money, they end up not accepting the money. There is so much of passion in their relationships. This film also shows how a typical woman gets jealous and ends up betraying her lover. Helena Bonham Carter plays the role to perfection. Millie Theale (Alison Elliott) is adorable as the terminal ill heiress. The splendour of Venice has been captured in a gorgeous way. This film is also a costume drama with some breathtaking costumes.

Tailpiece: Money makes many things. Some women tend to manipulate and betray their love for money. Here is a classic example of a girl who wants to win both money and love at one go. The real honest moment in the film comes in climax when she decides to eschew all the money and settle for just the lover.

Inspiration: Puri Jagan’s debut film Badri seem to be having some similarities with this storyline. Renu Desai asks Pawan Kalyan to love Amisha Patel (in the climax, it is revealed that she is suffers from infertility). In this film, Kate asks Merton to love Millie. The characters are reversed and the truth is told in the climax in Badri.