He was her first love... she was his last.
Guinevere is a May-September romance with an edge - about a young woman with lots of questions and an older man with a few too many answers.
In a family full of over-achievers, Harper Sloane (Sarah Polley) was the youngest and the odd one out. then she met Connie Fitzpatrick (Stephen Rea), the photographer at her sister's wedding, who's about to become the one man who could take her away from it all.
He's charming and shaggily attractive, with an intense sexual energy that draws her into his world. As a romance begins to unfold, his artistic passions become rights of passage for Harper, whose inexperience and awkward nature make her the perfect student. As Harper comes out of her shell, he'll show her a world of possibilities she's never imagined.
Special Agent Matti
Uh-huh.
In legend, Guinevere is about the only human female to appear in the tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. She loved and was married to Arthur but was also in love with Sir Lancelot (See also Pearl Harbour). She is a tragic figure because the times did not allow for a woman to have two husbands, which would probably have suited everyone down to the ground. The film is named Guinevere, and Connie calls Harper Guinevere, because... uh... I don't know. Maybe it's just a romantic and mystical name from Anglo fiction.
Anyhow, May-September (more correctly summer-autumn) romances are nothing new to film or the world. Richard Gere and Winona Ryder did it in Autumn in New York. Richard Gere and Julia Roberts did it in Runaway bride. Richard Gere and Mathilda May did it in The Jackal. Richard Gere and Jodie foster did it in Sommersby. Charles and Diana did it in the UK Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones did it in Hollywood. Connie and Harper doing it in Guinevere is different only in the respect that Connie is a serial summerphile as well as being messed up in a number of ways. He's an alcoholic, an artist, a megalomaniac, a teacher, a philosopher and a lover. He imbues his traits onto Harper, as bland a tabula rasae as you'll ever find.
While Sarah and Stephen fulfil their roles it's Jean who almost steals the film as Harper's embittered mother. She exudes fading beauty, slipping power and undesired matrimony and attacks every word with tired hatred. She's cool. She deserves an entire film to herself.
Despite having some good aspects, Guinevere didn't manage to light any fires under the sofa. For me, it's one of those films that doesn't quite manage to pull off whatever it was trying to do.
Whatever.
M (Low level coarse language, sexual references)
105 minutes (1:45 hours)
Film: 14 November 2001 - Sydney
Film: 28 June 2001 - General release
