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Washington Square

Play trailer Poster for Washington Square PG Released Oct 3, 1997 1h 55m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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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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Washington Square

Critics Reviews

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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 Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Henry James saw more humor in the story than Holland does (although Aunt Lavinia remains comic), but what they both understand is that in a family such as this, everything depends on the money -- unless nothing does. Rated: 3/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Mike Clark USA Today There's isn't much tension here, and, if anything, the film is stolen by Maggie Smith and Judith Ivey as Finney's sisters. Rated: 2.5/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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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 Full Review 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 Full Review Audience Member This was just a terrible love story in the end. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member Needlessly stupidly dreadful love story: a waste of good film. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Read all reviews
Washington Square

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Cast & Crew

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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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Washington Square

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Movie Info

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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