Washington Square

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Washington Square

PG

Released Oct 3, 1997

1h 55m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

81%

Tomatometer

32 Reviews

69%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

A wealthy man (Albert Finney) distrusts the motives of a dashing suitor (Ben Chaplin) courting his plain, sheltered daughter (Jennifer Jason Leigh) in 1850s New York.

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David Ansen

Newsweek

Holland's passionate version may be truer to James. He'd be startled by its earthiness, but he'd recognize these bruised, complex hearts as his own.

Mar 6, 2018

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Lisa Schwarzbaum

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: B+

Sep 7, 2011

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Globe and Mail

Rated: 2.5/4

Apr 12, 2002

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Marya E. Gates

Cool People Have Feelings, Too. (Substack)

Leigh plays the role Catherine Sloper with a repressed ferocity and has great chemistry with Chaplin.

Feb 13, 2024

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Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

Not even the usually twinkle-eyed Maggie Smith, here playing Catherine's aunt, can buoy the material.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jan 18, 2019

Full Review

Louis Menand

The New York Review of Books

If you are going to have an appealing Townsend you may as well have a distinctive Catherine. When they are sitting side by side playing piano duets, or kissing passionately in the parlor while the doctor is out, they make believable lovers.

Aug 17, 2018

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steve d

The story is a bit too familiar but Jennifer Jason Leigh is fantastic.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

An absolute marvel of presenting how bad a film can actually be. A great testament to an equally bad novel.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

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Audience Member

This was just a terrible love story in the end.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

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Audience Member

Needlessly stupidly dreadful love story: a waste of good film.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

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Audience Member

An interesting watch to be sure, but JJ Leigh's quirky portrayal didn't capture a daughter even a flinty heartbroken father would sequester. I found each of the four main characters were so emotionally torqued that their interactions became a sort of screwball tragedy. Fascinating nonetheless.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

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Audience Member

Holland's treatment of Washington Square goes across the line of the interesting into something quite dull. When Jennifer Jason Leigh flops down dramatically in the midst of the film, it represented the most exciting thing about it. Zzzzzz...

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

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Agnieszka Holland

Director

Jennifer Jason Leigh

Catherine Sloper

Albert Finney

Dr. Austin Sloper

Ben Chaplin

Morris Townsend

Maggie Smith

Aunt Lavinia Penniman

Judith Ivey

Aunt Elizabeth Almond

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Synopsis

A wealthy man (Albert Finney) distrusts the motives of a dashing suitor (Ben Chaplin) courting his plain, sheltered daughter (Jennifer Jason Leigh) in 1850s New York.

Director: Agnieszka Holland
Producer: Roger Birnbaum, Julie Bergman Sender
Screenwriter: Henry James, Carol Doyle
Distributor: Buena Vista Pictures
Production Co: Hollywood Pictures
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 3, 1997, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.8M
Runtime: 1h 55m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital, Surround
Aspect Ratio: 35mm, Flat (1.85:1)

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