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Guinevere

R 1999 1h 44m Romance List
86% Tomatometer 35 Reviews 54% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Harper Sloane (Sarah Polley) is a young woman from a privileged background who feels stifled by her family. When she meets Connie Fitzpatrick (Stephen Rea), an older man who's a photographer, she's intrigued, and is tempted to run away with him to become his muse and apprentice. She then finds out he's a bit of a cad and returns to her family. But not for long. The couple decide to go off to Los Angeles together, and along the way Harper finally begins to chase her dream of being an artist.
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Guinevere

Critics Reviews

View All (35) Critics Reviews
Lisa Schwarzbaum Entertainment Weekly Rated: A- Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Globe and Mail Rated: 3.5/4 Mar 19, 2002 Full Review Kenneth Turan Los Angeles Times Rated: 3/5 Feb 14, 2001 Full Review Film Threat Rated: 4/5 Dec 6, 2005 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 3/5 Jul 25, 2005 Full Review Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid Gives us a working relationship in progress rather than the usual Hollywood sitcom. Rated: 3/4 Feb 27, 2003 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Who is Guinevere? Sarah Polley and Stephen Rea directed by Audrey Wells It focuses on a young 21 year old girl named Harper She's just happy with her life and overbearing eccentric mother She decides to run away and bumps into famed photographer Connie He sees something inside her being a photogenic presence Harper is tempted to join him as his muse but has reservations about her passions and feeling neglected The film has two appealing leads, wonderful music, and is beautifully shot When it reaches the halfway point we see that Harper isn't so genuous or high and mighty as she seems even her mother can attest to it Heck even the insecurities and quiet fears are brought to the surface It's a good character piece and I appreciated the ending summing up everything this photographer has amassed The movie is about love even bad love and how sometimes that's exactly what we need A great heart while differentiating itself from the usual romance Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/25/24 Full Review Steve D Polly is really good but the story is just too uncomfortable. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 09/22/23 Full Review James B The Jazz soundtrack was the only redeeming feature of this cinematic exercise in absurdity. I can't believe I sat through the whole thing. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 07/18/23 Full Review Audience Member The greatest 01 hour: and 44 minutes ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review david f This was a strong attempt at capturing the ambiguity and complexity of a love affair between a young artistic woman and an older photographer with a drinking problem. It was even-handed and insightful with some good acting and drama which was never overly melodramatic or unbelievable. It also nicely captures the kind of hostile or unfriendly family environment which leads people to seek strong friendships and loves in somewhat inappropriate or misguided places. It was mature, funny, and not a little sad. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member I liked this story. A coming of age girl who wants to break from her awkwardness and be the center of attention without realizing that she wanted it meets a man who recognizes it and gains a mutual benefit as he doesn't like to become too vulnerable by being the burden of aging...not really a mid life crisis, it's just the way he chooses to finish his life. Once the girls become women and he's made them stand on their own and be able to take care of someone else then he has them leave him knowing that they will be ready for their next relationship or stage in life. He's not mistreating them, he's not cheating on them, it's a mutual benefit that he and his "Guinevere" find in each other. I can relate in my own "coming of age" when I went through relationships that ended where you learn and move on and mine were never this cordial after the break up. I'm 31 and I really wasn't bothered with the age difference- the intimate scenes were tastefully done and more like an intro so you know what happened verses watching it happen. I personally wouldn't date someone that much younger or older than me but May-December relationships are out there so to each their own. It is however a movie where there is no guessing at all about what will happen, and some of Harper's lines during the first part of the movie had me rolling my eyes. The "insecurity" came across as too over the top to take seriously and there were some major hokey moments that were gag worthy that I'm assuming I was supposed to find beautifully quirky and liberating (example: "throne" on the roof scene gaaaahhhg) Overall it was a nice character study that was refreshingly different. Worth a watch at least once but not one you'd likely want to buy. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Guinevere

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Movie Info

Synopsis Harper Sloane (Sarah Polley) is a young woman from a privileged background who feels stifled by her family. When she meets Connie Fitzpatrick (Stephen Rea), an older man who's a photographer, she's intrigued, and is tempted to run away with him to become his muse and apprentice. She then finds out he's a bit of a cad and returns to her family. But not for long. The couple decide to go off to Los Angeles together, and along the way Harper finally begins to chase her dream of being an artist.
Director
Audrey Wells
Producer
Jonathan King, Brad Weston
Screenwriter
Audrey Wells
Production Co
Miramax, Bandeira Entertainment
Rating
R
Genre
Romance
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 14, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$614.2K
Runtime
1h 44m
Sound Mix
Surround
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