"Hilary and Jackie" (1998) 2 1/2 stars out of 4. Starring Emily Watson and Rachel Griffiths.
Realizing this is a generalization, the question still needs to be posed: Why is it that these bio-pics about artistic people seem to be so overwrought and punctuated by multiple exclamation points?
Case in point, "Hilary and Jackie," the story of the English cellist Jacqueline du Pre and her sister, Hilary, a talented flutist who chose marriage and family over a concert career.
The movie, while covering the life of the two women, never really allows its audience any intimacy with its subjects.
We know only the surface details. Jackie, driven early in life by her sister's musical expertise, works to surpass her. It is Jackie who gains fame as one of the world's top cellist while Hilary is content to live in the country with her husband, Kiffer.
What "Hilary and Jackie" lacks is focus and heart. Focus, because the screenplay, adapted by Frank Cottrell Boyce from the book "A Genius in the Family" by Hilary and her brother, Piers Du Pre, cannot get a firm grasp on Jackie.
Her artistic temperment is well displayed. She is self-centered - while on tour, she ships her dirty laundry home to be washed; mercurial - she goes from moments of giddiness to fits of depression and moments of cruelty; and conflicted - she loves the accolades and perks of fame, yet she envies Hilary's simple country life.
The problem is that no discernible reason is given for Jackie's actions. It must be taken on faith that it is merely her inherent nature. She is driven by genius. Why? Because we are told so.
The most controversial aspect of the movie - as it reportedly was in the book - was the time Jackie quit touring to live with Hilary and "share" her husband. Jackie, who was married to pianist-conductor Daniel Berenboim, deserts him and just drops in on Hilary and her family and blithfully disrupts their lives.
At least the movie refuses to allow Hilary to become a victim. She is culpable, allowing her forceful sister to have her way, even letting her sleep with her beloved Kiffer. Hilary indulges Jackie's outrageous behavior. Yet, again, no apparent explanation is forthcoming, except that Hilary is afraid of losing her sister.
In a normal family relationship, Jackie's behavior would get her tossed with a good riddance for emphasis. But Hilary consistently hides behinds Jackie's "genius" as her excuse for her non-intervention.
As Jackie, Emily Watson, who was so stunning in "Breaking the Waves," is all mannerisms and motion. She doesn't inhabit Jackie so much as possess her, like the devil possessed Linda Blair in "The Exorcist." Any moment you expect her to vomit up pea soup. Affecting a nearly incomprehensible accent, Watson shows us Jackie's artistic madness, but cannot show us what ignites it.
Even later, when Jackie is ravaged with multiple sclerosis, Watson's performance seems just that - acting. You never get the feeling that she actually inhabits Jackie. She may have copied the outer trappings, but she has failed to reach the soul of the artist.
Griffiths Hilary has a much more difficult time. Not as flamboyant as Jackie, her task is nearly thankless. She must balance that thin line between martyr and victim. You shake your head in disbelief while she allows Jackie to use her husband and walk all over her, yet you also admire her resilience and determination to hold her family - and her life - together.
Griffiths' is the spine of the film. Her Hilary, despite all her flaws, is the stronger of the sisters.
"Hilary and Jackie" is a movie with faults. Director Anand Tucker's decision to show some of the same sequences from the perspective of both Hilary and Jackie seems a bit pretentious and unnecessary.
However, "Hilary and Jackie" does have some fine moments. One, especially, is the scene early on when the young Hilary realizes that Jackie has surpassed her in talent and has become the star of the family. It is heartbreaking in its honesty and reality.
Sequences such as those make this movie worth seeing. The music is good, as well, but it is not what drives this movie. Relationships and the complexities of family is at the core of "Hilary and Jackie."
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, Ind. He can be reached by e-mail at bloom@journal-courier.com or at cbloom@iquest.net
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