Impromptu

The love affair of Victorian novelist George Sand (Judy Davis) and composer Frederic Chopin (Hugh Grant) is chronicled in this delightful period comedy-drama. Davis (My Brilliant Career, A Room With a View, High Tide) tackles the meaty role of Sand with verve and gusto, and just the right touch of vulnerability. Smoking cigars, dressing in men's clothes, and changing lovers with the approximate frequency of changing underwear, she is, to say the least, somewhat of a threat to the male ego. When she sets her sights on the consumptive, delicate Chopin, the traditional sex roles become comically reversed. Sand aggressively pursues her goal, while Chopin runs for cover. Around this central story is woven a series of subplots involving Chopin's friend Franz Liszt (Julian Sands) and his lover, the devious Marie d'Agoult (a surprisingly strong performance by Bernadette Peters). Marie does her femme fatale best to undermine George at every turn, having decided that Chopin is a jewel worth having for her own crown. Elaborate sets, superb acting, and a sparkling sense of humor (thanks to Sarah Kernochan's witty script), raise director James Lapine's literary romance above the stuffiness common to drawing room pieces to new planes of laughter and love. Highly recommended. (R. Pitman) [Blu-ray/DVD Review—Nov. 3, 2015—Olive, 108 min., PG-13, DVD: $24.95, Blu-ray: $29.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and debut on Blu-ray, 1991's Impromptu features a great transfer, but no extras. Bottom line: this charming historical romance makes a welcome debut on Blu-ray.]