Archive of films Heart of Me / The Heart of Me

United Kingdom
2002, 96 min

Section: Horizons
Year: 2003

London 1934. After their father’s death Madeleine suggest that her sister Dinah move in with her at her house in the metropolis. But soon Madeleine’s husband Rickie and Dinah begin getting too close for comfort and neither of them seems able to do anything about it. Without judging them, the director follows the development of her characters and their mutual relationships over the course of ten years.

Synopsis

London 1934. After their father’s death Madeleine suggest that her sister Dinah move in with her at her house in the metropolis. Madeleine’s husband Rickie has now become the head of the family and he thus naturally gets involved in his wife’s efforts to find a suitable husband for the freethinking Dinah. After the announcement of her engagement it seems that their wish has been fulfilled. But Rickie and Dinah have been drawing ever closer together and neither of them seems able to do anything about it. Without judging them, the director follows the development of her characters and their mutual relationships over the course of ten years. In this way she poses questions about friendship, guilt, the power of love, as well as reconciliation and forgiveness – possible for everyone, though to differing degrees. The film’s visual beauty is underscored by excellent acting performances (Helena Bonham Carter, Olivia Williams and Paul Bettany) that bring the story believably to life. The director observed: "The complexity is what atracted us. Almost every action, every line of dialogue had that built-in tension, that doubt - is this a bad person being good or a good person being bad."

About the director

Thaddeus O’Sullivan (b. 1947, Dublin) graduated in film from the Royal College of Art, London. From the beginning he worked as both cameraman and director. In the eighties he manned the lens on several significant Irish films, for example Traveller, Pigs and Anne Devlin. As director, his December Bride (1990) was a great success, winning various awards including a Felix: the Special Jury Prize from the European Film Academy. Filmography: Pint of Plain (1975, short), On a Paving Stone Mounted (1978), Jack B Yeats (1981, short), The Woman Who Married Clark Gable (1985, short), December Bride (1990), In the Border Country (1991, TV), Tell Tale Hearts (1992, TV), Nothing Personal (1995), Witness to the Mob (1998, TV), Ordinary Decent Criminal (2000), The Heart of Me (2002). 

Contacts

Pandora
4000 Warner Boulevard, Building 148,Suite 201, 915 22, Burbank
United States of America
Tel: +1 818 95 45 561
Fax: +1 818 95 47 713
E-mail: [email protected]

Martin Pope Productions
Pinewood Studios, Pinewood Rd Iver Heath, SL0 0NH, Bucks
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 1753 652 778
Fax: +44 1753 655 043
E-mail: [email protected]

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About the film

Color, 35 mm

Section:	Horizons

Director:	Thaddeus O´Sullivan
Screenplay:	Lucinda Coxon podle románu Rosamonda Lehmanna "The Echoing Grove" / based on a novel "The Echoing Grove" by Rosamond Lehmann
Dir. of Photography:	Gyula Pados
Music:	Nicholas Hooper
Editor:	Alex Mackie
Producer:	Martin Pope
Production:	Martin Pope Productions
Cast:	Helena Bonham Carter, Olivia Williams, Paul Bettany, Eleanor Bron, Luke Newberry, Gillian Hanna, Andrew Havill
Contact:	Pandora, Martin Pope Productions