The Governess

Play trailer

The Governess

R

Released Jun 11, 1998

1h 54m

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

65%

Tomatometer

34 Reviews

49%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

Following her father's murder, a London Jew, Rosina da Silva (Minnie Driver), reinvents herself as a Protestant governess on a remote Scottish island. Schooling the Cavendish family's daughter, Clementina (Florence Hoath), she soon incites the amorous passions of patriarch Charles (Tom Wilkinson), a scientist obsessed with capturing the photographic image. When his rebellious son Henry (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) arrives home, complications arise, emotions entangle and secrets inevitably spill out.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: C

Sep 7, 2011

Full Review

Globe and Mail

Rated: 3/4

Apr 25, 2003

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

The Governess could be an illustration of the ideas in Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own, in which she marvels at how necessary it is for men to have women to feel superior to.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Jordan Hiller

Bangitout.com

If Jane Austen or a Bront sister were inclined to revolve their tale of forbidden love and parlor room intrigue around a Jewish heroine, The Governess would undoubtedly resemble the result.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jul 15, 2009

Full Review

Film Threat

Rated: 3/5

Dec 6, 2005

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 2/5

Sep 4, 2005

Full Review

Read all reviews

dani M

It begins with a blessing it ends with a curse. Quite a good movie, London, beautiful Scotland, story of photography and then somewhere in the middle it deflates ... Why am I watching? What am I watching?

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/19/25

Full Review

Alain E

Big fan of the late Tom Wilkinson, but I could not last enough to watch him on this feature. This movie would be bad if done by a student, let alone a professional. Start with the introduction, as we see the opening credits. The same scenes back and forth. No imagination at all. Then, they bring someone dead with terrible acting by the survivors. Next!

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

12/04/24

Full Review

Audience Member

It's passable Minnie Driver has really good acting chops next to Tom Wilkinson There's virtually no music throughout much of this so it might feel stagnant for many viewers Intuition, creativity and passion are sprinkled throughout this 1840's period drama next to forbidden love and dreams of photography in its infancy

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

08/01/23

Full Review

Jan P

I love this film. Not only for the performances and period but because it [deliberately?] documents the existence of cutting-edge women photographers who have too long been ignored.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/09/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Worst film of all time. Time period is not represented! Represents jews in a horrible light. Language used is inaccurate. How she got to Scotland is impossible.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie was a huge disappointment. It builds the audience up for a romance that barely happens. Minnie Driver is lovely and enchanting in this film. I wish her role was more- just more. Her performance was great, but the relationship between her character and the Cavendish men left you wanting more. The movie could have been better.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Sandra Goldbacher

Director

Minnie Driver

Rosina 'Rosie' da Silva, aka Mary Blackchurch

Tom Wilkinson

Mr. Charles Cavendish

Florence Hoath

Clementina Cavendish

Jonathan Rhys-Meyers

Henry Cavendish

Harriet Walter

Mrs. Cavendish

The Wings of the Dove

86%

78%

The Wings of the Dove

Watchlist

Firelight

41%

82%

Firelight

Watchlist

Miss Julie

41%

51%

Miss Julie

Watchlist

Hideous Kinky

67%

60%

Hideous Kinky

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

Following her father's murder, a London Jew, Rosina da Silva (Minnie Driver), reinvents herself as a Protestant governess on a remote Scottish island. Schooling the Cavendish family's daughter, Clementina (Florence Hoath), she soon incites the amorous passions of patriarch Charles (Tom Wilkinson), a scientist obsessed with capturing the photographic image. When his rebellious son Henry (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) arrives home, complications arise, emotions entangle and secrets inevitably spill out.

Director: Sandra Goldbacher
Producer: Sarah Curtis
Screenwriter: Sandra Goldbacher
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: Pandora Cinema
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 11, 1998, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 10, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.0M
Runtime: 1h 54m
Sound Mix: Dolby
Aspect Ratio: 35mm, Flat (1.85:1)

Most Popular at Home Now