The Last September (1999)

Set in 1920 Ireland during the waning days of British occupation, an aristocratic Anglo-Irish couple (Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon) seem intentionally oblivious to the political turmoil around them. With the arrival of several house guests as well as the budding romance between their niece (the dreary Keeley Hawes) and an English captain (David Tennant), everything they had attempted to shut out, comes crashing in. Based on the 1929 novel by Elizabeth Bowen, what should have been a provocative piece of cinema comes across as a dull Masterpiece Theatre production. I've not read Ms. Bowen's novel but surely her characters could not have been as drearily insipid as they play out here. And characters' actions are often so stupid that we can't help but withhold our sympathy as when one character is killed due to his own imprudence. Slawomir Idziak's cinematography borders on pretentious what with shooting through green and amber filters, the wrong end of a telescope, one petal falling off a rose, etc. Smith, as always, is marvelous as the snobbish doyenne who refuses to see beyond her own socio-economic class. Directed by Deborah Warner, the bland score is by Zbigniew Preisner (TROIS COULEURS). With Jane Birkin (looking like Lily Tomlin), Fiona Shaw (very good), Lambert Wilson and Gary Lydon.