A Handful of Dust

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A Handful of Dust

PG

Released Jun 24, 1988

1h 58m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

83%

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6 Reviews

45%

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1,000+ Ratings

English aristocrat Tony Last (James Wilby) welcomes tragedy into his life when he invites John Beaver (Rupert Graves) to visit his vast estate. There Beaver makes the acquaintance of Tony's wife, Brenda (Kristin Scott Thomas). Together, they continue their relationship in a series of bedroom assignations in London. Trusting to a fault, Tony is unaware that anything is amiss until his wife suddenly asks for a divorce. With his life in turmoil, Tony goes on a haphazard journey to South America.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

This is a peculiar movie, but a provocative one. The performances imply more than the dialogue explains.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 1, 2000

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Quentin Crisp

Christopher Street

There is much to recommend in A Handful of Dust -- impressive manorial interiors and chilly English landscapes, [and] faultlessly articulated lines... but it remains a misguided venture; it has been impossible to impose upon the plot a cinematic shape.

May 7, 2024

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

…Sturridge sticks closely to Waugh’s book for better or worse and makes a cinematic mountain out of a molehill of casual infidelity…

Rated: 3/5

Jul 22, 2023

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Hilary Mantel

The Spectator

Something small but vital has gone wrong with this adaptation, but a great many things have gone right.

Apr 9, 2019

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Hansomely mounted, Charles Sturridge's adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's novel places too much emphasis on atmosphere and decor and not enough on characterization.

Rated: B-

Jun 7, 2012

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Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Handsome, but airless and uninvolving version of the Waugh novel

Rated: 3/5

Sep 18, 2002

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Teddy B

Incredibly depressing. No sympathy for the entitled Brenda. Tony got a raw deal. Nice scenery and costumes.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/09/25

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Glafira Regina O

The only thing that saves the film is eternal beauty of Kristin Thomas. The rest of it is an absolute dumb nonsence

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/04/25

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Alain E

In a way a condemnation of British aristocracy. The emotionally restrained heir of a rich family in its last legs is in an unsatisfactory marriage. His wife soon finds more excitement hooking up with a vacuous young man. Their young son is raised principally by a nanny until he gets killed in a hunting accident. They decide to separate , but disagree on the financial terms. The husband, on the spur of a moment, decides to join an explorer of the Brazilian jungle and ends up imprisoned by an illiterate elderly colonist who is forcing him to read loud the complete works of Charles Dickens. Believed lost, his heirs raise a small obelisk in his memory. So, actually a pretty solid monument of dust.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/05/25

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Geraldine T

I have always loved this film. Understated but visceral attack on the venal characters that both inhabit and attach themselves like bloodsucking leeches to money and title in the British aristocracy.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/18/25

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Audience Member

Great story and lovely to see so many great actors when they were young. Strange arty story but a really good film, well worth checking it out.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

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Audience Member

The disintegration of an upper-class marriage and a strange encounter with a man who likes Dickens in a Brazilian forest make no heads nor tails in this adaptation of British writer Evelyn Waugh's semi-autobiographical novel.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

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Charles Sturridge

Director

James Wilby

Tony Last

Kristin Scott Thomas

Brenda Last

Rupert Graves

John Beaver

Judi Dench

Mrs. Beaver

Anjelica Huston

Mrs. Rattery

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Synopsis

English aristocrat Tony Last (James Wilby) welcomes tragedy into his life when he invites John Beaver (Rupert Graves) to visit his vast estate. There Beaver makes the acquaintance of Tony's wife, Brenda (Kristin Scott Thomas). Together, they continue their relationship in a series of bedroom assignations in London. Trusting to a fault, Tony is unaware that anything is amiss until his wife suddenly asks for a divorce. With his life in turmoil, Tony goes on a haphazard journey to South America.

Director: Charles Sturridge
Producer: Derek Granger
Screenwriter: Derek Granger, Charles Sturridge, Tim Sullivan
Distributor: New Line Cinema
Production Co: Stagescreen Productions, London Weekend Television
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 24, 1988, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 19, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.6M
Runtime: 1h 58m
Sound Mix: Surround

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