The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (1987)

Director:

Jack Clayton

Writers:

Brian Moore (novel)
Peter Nelson (writer)

Release Date:

February 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

She falls in love with a broken down former NYC hotel doorman, who tells Judith vaguely that he was in the hotel business.

Plot Keywords:

Based On Novel | Independent Film | Character Name In Title

Awards:

Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 wins

Cast

Maggie Smith	...	Judith Hearne
Bob Hoskins	...	James Madden
Wendy Hiller	...	Aunt D'Arcy
Marie Kean	...	Mrs. Rice
Ian McNeice	...	Bernard Rice
Alan Devlin	...	Father Quigley
Rudi Davies	...	Mary
Prunella Scales	...	Moira O'Neill
Aine Ni Mhuiri	...	Edie Marinan
Sheila Reid	...	Miss Friel
Niall Buggy	...	Mr. Lenehan
Kate Binchy	...	Sister Ignatius
Martina Stanley	...	Sister Mary-Paul
Veronica Quilligan	...	Mrs. Mullen
Frank Egerton	...	The Major

Runtime:

USA:110 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Fujicolor)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:14 | UK:15 | Spain:13 | Finland:K-14 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Company:

HandMade Films

Movie Connections:

References Samson and Delilah (1949)

Soundtrack:

WHEN YOU'RE SMILING

Maggie Smith is just............................WOW!!!

I own this VHS, which I found on eBay for like $5.00... I had no idea what a treasure I was receiving. I was looking for it because I will watch anything with Maggie Smith in it, and also because she won the Best Actress British Academy Award for it.

Maggie is in the top 3 of my favorite actresses. You give her a good role and she will just knock your socks off. She has mastered comedy and drama in a way that I haven't quite seen before. She does not play the role of Judith in this film. She IS Judith Hearne in all her depressing, desperate, lonely, and passionate glory. I could've cried my eyes out at her devastation over the spilling of the whiskey....and that's all I'm giving away. She simply reaches through the screen, grabs your heart, and rips it out of your chest. There is NO WAY you can see this film and not feel SOMETHING. It is one of the best, if not THE BEST performance by a female actor recorded.....and I've seen a lot of films.

I have no idea how this was missed by the Oscars, with practically zero money-making films like "Monster", "Monster's Ball", "Vera Drake", and "Million Dollar Baby" being recognized for the performances and not the commercial success now-a-days. Maggie's performance CRUSHED the nominees that year and the winner (Cher for "Moonstruck")... Find this, buy it, or something. My GOSH if you love a great performance, you just have to see this film!! You won't be sorry.