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Mrs. Dalloway

A woman’s past unlocks the truth buried within her soul.

1997 · 1h 37m · PG-13 Drama, Romance
Directed by Marleen Gorris

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Overview

Clarissa Dalloway looks back on her youth as she readies for a gathering at her house. The wife of a legislator and a doyenne of London's upper-crust party scene, Clarissa finds that the plight of ailing war veteran Septimus Warren Smith reminds her of a past romance with Peter Walsh. In flashbacks, young Clarissa explores her possibilities with Peter.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
71%
Tomatometer
Fresh

Director Marleen Gorris and screenwriter Eileen Atkins have done a remarkable job of suggesting the inner mental jumble Woolf strove to convey and constructing an exterior narrative of luminous beauty.

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
Fresh

A highly romantic, deeply melancholy drama, the film offers psychological and existential insights about the inevitable effects - and price - of life choices.

Emanuel Levy, Variety
Fresh

The first act will be perplexing for those unfamiliar with the novel, but Redgrave's performance steers us through, and by the end we understand with complete, final clarity what the story was about.

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Rotten

Vanessa Redgrave is such a majestic screen presence -- so luminous and wise -- that even the stilted "Mrs. Dalloway" is hard-pressed to dim her radiance.

Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle
Fresh

he film adaptation of ''Mrs. Dalloway'' is as elegantly wrought and reflective as the material allows (which is to say that in this case, a trip to the library makes for an invaluable part of the experience).

Janet Maslin, New York Times

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