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The Deep Blue Sea
Buried passions boil over in a buttoned-up postwar Britain in Terence Davies acclaimed adaptation of Rattigan's play, starring Rachel Weisz.
Director: Terence Davies
Overview
London, 1950. Hester (a sensational Rachel Weisz), is a woman trapped in a passionless marriage to a stuffy High Court judge who embarks on a passionate affair with an ex-RAF pilot, risking everything for love and desire. But the affair leaves her feeling isolated and suicidal. Set at a time when emotions were firmly repressed, Davies’ vivid and sensitive film has echoes of Brief Encounter.
An adaptation of Terence Rattigan’s acclaimed play, it marked Davies' triumphant return, after 11 years, to narrative filmmaking. It’s beautifully staged, movingly restrained and features impressive performances from Tom Hiddleston, Simon Russell Beale and Anne Mitchell, who almost steals the film playing a pragmatic landlady.
Related
Terence Davies on The Deep Blue Sea (Short interview) Terence Davies on The Deep Blue Sea (Short interview)
Short interview 2011 2 mins
Obsessions from social status to Gene Kelly are cited by Terence Davies as the background to his adaptation of Terence Rattigan's stage play.
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