Based on Nobel Prize winner Patrick White's titular 1973 novel, The Eye of the Storm is a handsome dramedy featuring intriguing relationships built on secrets. Charlotte Rampling heads up the superb cast as Elizabeth, a dying widow whose considerable wealth is matched only by the size of her controlling nature. During her final days, Elizabeth is visited by her estranged, middle-aged daughter, Dorothy (Judy Davis)—a princess via a former marriage—and her charmingly obsequious son, Basil (Geoffrey Rush), a mediocre stage actor trying to mount an autobiographical stage play in London's West End. These three characters collide in bruising but also entertaining fashion, while Elizabeth drifts into memories—yet remains lucid enough to insult and dominate everyone. Meanwhile, Basil and Dorothy engage in their own entanglements with others in Elizabeth's orbit, including a nurse (Alexandra Schepisi, daughter of the film's venerable director, Fred Schepisi) and a noble, long-suffering attorney (John Gaden) who might have had a brief affair with Elizabeth. An actors' showcase of a film that eventually delivers a moving and powerful revelation, this is recommended. (T. Keogh)
The Eye of the Storm
Sycamore, 119 min., not rated, DVD: $29.98, Blu-ray: $34.98, Jan. 29 Volume 28, Issue 1
The Eye of the Storm
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