Another Life

Reviewer: James van Maanen
Rating (out of 5): ***

Made in 2000 and given a marginal release in the UK (where it was made) and Singapore the following year, Another Life was then sold to TV in only few countries. It's an odd little film that is finally now, thanks to DVD, able to be seen here in the states. Some of its cast members -- Ioan Gruffudd, Imelda Staunton and Tom Wilkinson -- well-known back then, have only grown starrier over time, while others -- Natasha Little, Nick Moran and Rachael Stirling -- though working consistently, have failed to hit the big time. All six are excellent actors, elsewhere and here, and their film, based on a scandal that made headlines back in the early days of the twentieth century, is worth seeing.

Written and directed by Philip Goodhew (who made the interesting, though not entirely successful 1996 movie Intimate Relations, with Julie Walters and Rupert Graves), Another Life has a fine beginning, a middle section that sags and an ending that grows increasingly powerful and upsetting, thanks in large part to the performance of Natasha Little. Her Edith Graydon begins as a feisty, charming, bright young woman with seemingly boundless possibilities and ends up -- no, you'll have to find this out on your own. Along the way, you'll meet her family (Staunton's the mom, Stirling's the sister), the young man whom she charms into marriage (Moran) and an old friend of the family (Gruffudd) for whom her sister has eyes. Her bon vivant boss, who understands his employee better perhaps that she does herself, is played by the always reliable Wilkinson.

The movie takes a look at a culture and morality in transition. WWI was about to begin and England -- and the world at large -- would change drastically. But a woman with too liberated a mind and emotional life might find the line between constraint and freedom a tricky one. Little captures this character quite well; she's romantic and smart but not finally brave enough to take hold of her own life. Gruffudd and Moran provide sterling support acting-wise, if not character-wise, while Staunton, in a limited role, does her usual fine turn.

I wish Goodhew had just a bit better grasp of filmmaking; he lets the middle slide off into a kind of back-and-forth repetition that grows a slightly tiresome. But he and his film get back on course by the gripping finale, and the denouement should leave you angry and frustrated -- not by the film itself but by the behavior of the people in that time and place.