The Heart of Me

A hefty period drama set in London of the 1930's, The Heart of Me may be familiar in style and scope to countless Merchant Ivory productions, but thanks to the emotionally urgent performances, the film doesn't feel as hackneyed as it should.

Williams plays Madeleine, married to Rickie (Bettany) with a young son (Newberry). Her free spirited sister Dinah (Bonham Carter) exerts quite a hold over Rickie and soon the pair are engaged in an affair which ultimately has tragic consequences for all involved.

The material may not be the most original - love triangles in period settings with genre stalwart Helena Bonham Carter - but The Heart of Me is saved from ultimate mediocrity from the verve of the performances. After years of playing non descript love interest parts, Williams burns brightly as the wronged wife, desperate to maintain a faandccedil;ade of respectability within society, despite being acutely aware of her husband's shortcomings. Bettany, too, is excellent - setting aside the brashness of recent excursions and revelling in his character's moral ambiguities. More problematic is O'Sullivan's tendency to be so literal with the free spirited Dinah, and his reliance on weighty metaphors. It might have benefited from a lighter touch but The Heart of Me is still an engaging proposition.