Where Angels Fear to Tread

Stars: Helena Bonham-Carter (Howard's End, A Room With a View), Judy Davis (Husbands and Wives, One Against the Wind, My Brilliant Career), Helen Mirren (The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover, White Nights, Mosquito Coast), Rupert Graves (A Room With a View, Maurice). This turn-of-the-century British adaptation of E.M. Forster's novel stars Helen Mirren as Lilia Herriton, a free-spirited Brit who vacations in Italy--mostly to get away from her stuffy family--and promptly marries an Italian boy half her age. Back home, the Herriton's are horrified and Mom orders son Philip (Rupert Graves) to the land of the grape to rescue his wayward relation. But it's no dice. Later, after tragedy strikes, the Herritons must once again journey to Italy. Only this time Philip is accompanied by his comic shrew of a sister Harriet (another standout performance by Judy Davis). For the first 3/4ths of the film, Where Angels Fear to Tread is an amusing comedy-of-manners, very much in the Masterpiece Theatre vein. But towards the end, the film takes a rather dark turn and opts for a hokey metaphorical ending. Still, it's a lovely film to look at, and the trio of actresses who make up the backbone of the film (Mirren, Davis, and Bonham-Carter) are the cream of the British crop. Audience: Masterpiece Theatre fans; fans of other Forster adaptations (A Room With a View, Howard's End). (R. Pitman)[DVD Review—Jan. 9, 2007—Image, 112 min., PG, $9.99—Making its first appearance on DVD, 1992's Where Angels Fear to Tread features a decent transfer and DTS, Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo sound, although the only DVD extras are trailers. Bottom line: a disappointing extras package for a solid adaptation.]