Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 3, 1994 TAG: 9409080019
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By KATHERINE REED STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Fans of ``Masterpiece Theatre'' will eat up John Irvin's new film, "Widows' Peak," which tells the semi-sordid (gasp!) little tale of the trouble that besets the tiny, Irish town of Kilshannon when Edwina Broome (Richardson) moves onto the Peak with the other Widows.
Kilshannon is not the kind of place that throws open its arms to strangers, but Mrs. Broome is so enchanting and her tale so tragic and heroic - her husband was awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously - that she is soon one of the Widows.
Mrs. Doyle Counihan (Joan Plowright), Queen of the Widows, is nearly as seduced by Mrs. Broome as is her doting, bachelor son Godfrey (Adrian Dunbar of "Hear My Song"). "Posthumous," she murmurs. "Such a nice word."
But Katherine O'Hare (Farrow) is apparently having nothing of it, and as Godfrey and Edwina's nuptials are announced, the murderous, no-holds-barred feud between the quiet, gentle Miss O'Hare and the stylish, silken Mrs. Broome escalates into a very public quarrel. And a Mystery is made.
Irving, who directed "Turtle Diary," knew well enough to let an exceptionally fine cast (and pretty lively script) do the work in this film. The Irish countryside is lovely, filmed by Ashley Rowe, and costumes by Consolata Boyle - especially Richardson's - are such a beautiful collection of '20s dresses and hats that they are almost distracting in some scenes.
The story - which is as brainy as it is entertaining - is built on a familiar framework: How easily can we be led astray by false appearances, idle gossip and the need to see things not as they are but as we wish they might be?
"Widows' Peak" is a funny, entertaining answer to that question.
"Widows' Peak"
***
A Fine Line Cinema production. Rated PG, because kids would be bored. Running time 99 minutes. Showing at The Grandin Theatre.
by CNB