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The Governess

Play trailer Poster for The Governess R Released Jun 11, 1998 1h 54m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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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.
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The Governess

Critics Reviews

View All (34) Critics Reviews
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

Audience Reviews

View All (72) audience 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
The Governess

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Cast & Crew

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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

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The Governess

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Movie Info

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)
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