September (1996)

Set in the Scottish highlands, as the town's leading citizens prepare for a ball given by one of the village's social butterflies (Judy Parfitt), long buried secrets come to the fore when a woman (Jacqueline Bisset) who had fled the town 20 years before returns for reasons of her own. Based on the best selling novel by Rosamunde Pilcher and directed by Colin Bucksey. At a running time of slightly over three hours, the film plays out like a nice juicy read. It opens with the discovery of a body but we have to wait until the end to discover whose body it is. It's pure soap opera of course but done very well and there are some nice performances. Notably that of Jacqueline Bisset, an actress usually cast for her beauty rather than her acting ability. No need to seek it out but if you run across it, don't be surprised if it hooks you in. In addition to the performances, a shout out goes to Peter Sinclair's cinematography that makes the Irish locations (standing in for Scotland) look gorgeous. With Michael York, Mariel Hemingway, Edward Fox, Jenny Agutter, Virginia McKenna (just wonderful), Paul Guilfoyle and Angela Pleasence in a really creepy performance.