This visually opulent drama is based on an 18th century novel by James Hogg. A young man looks back on his life as he examines his divided soul and the push-and-pull between good and evil, purity and hypocrisy, and other concerns voiced in the writings of philosophers as disparate as de Sade and Goethe. The arguments are not always easy to follow and presuppose that the audience has a certain familiarity with the concepts and their meaning.~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide