Tom & Viv is a 1994 historical drama film directed by Brian Gilbert, based on the 1984 play of the same name by British playwright Michael Hastings about the early love life of American poet T. S. Eliot. The film stars Willem Dafoe, Miranda Richardson, Rosemary Harris, Tim Dutton, and Nickolas Grace.
PremiseThe film tells the story of the relationship between T. S. Eliot and his first wife, Vivienne Haigh-Wood Eliot. They were married in 1915 after a brief courtship and, although they separated in 1933, they never divorced.[3]
Cast- Willem Dafoe ... T. S. Eliot
- Miranda Richardson ... Vivienne Haigh-Wood Eliot
- Rosemary Harris ... Rose Robinson Haigh-Wood
- Tim Dutton ... Maurice Haigh-Wood
- Nickolas Grace ... Bertrand Russell
- Geoffrey Bayldon ... Harwent
- Clare Holman ... Louise Purdon
- Philip Locke ... Charles Haigh-Wood
- Joanna McCallum ... Virginia Woolf
- Joseph O'Conor ... Bishop of Oxford
- John Savident ... Sir Frederick Lamb
- Michael Attwell ... W. I. Janes
- Sharon Bower ... Secretary
- Linda Spurrier.... Edith Sitwell
- Roberta Taylor ... Ottoline Morrell
- Christopher Baines ... Verger
- Anna Chancellor ... Woman
- John Clegg ... Second Man
- James Greene ... Dr. Cryiax
- Simon McBurney ... Dr. Reginald Miller
The film opened on 15 April 1994 on 37 screens in the United Kingdom and grossed £61,070 in its opening weekend.[4] After 10 days, it had grossed £142,674 and dropped out of the top 15.[5] On 2 December 1994, the film opened at the Westside Pavilion in Los Angeles for a one week Oscars qualifying run and at Cinema 2 in New York City before its regular run in January 1995.[6][7] It grossed $21,968 in its opening weekend and grossed $538,534 in the United States and Canada.[2]
ReceptionThe film received mixed reviews. It holds a 36% approval rating on review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes, based on 14 reviews, with an average rating of 5.20/10.[8] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly praised the performances, but gave the film a B−, saying '[it] is the kind of sodden, tasteful, here-are-a-few-nasty-warts-to-chew-on biography that raises as many dramatic questions as it answers.'[9] Derek Elley of Variety admired the film's artistic aspirations and production values, but called it, 'a handsomely appointed but overly starchy love story that attains real clout only in the final reel.'[10]
Awards
The film was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Miranda Richardson) and Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Rosemary Harris). The National Board of Review also gave awards to Richardson as Best Actress and Harris as Best Supporting Actress for their performances in the film. [11]
Year-end lists
- 9th – National Board of Review[12]
- ^ "The 10 Worst Movies to Receive Best Acting Nominations". 13 February 2017.
- ^ a b Tom & Viv at Box Office Mojo
- ^ Hastings, Michael. Tom and Viv. Penguin 1985, with an introduction by Hastings.
- ^ "UK Box Office". Screen International. 22 April 1994. p. 25.
- ^ "UK Box Office". Screen International. 29 April 1994. p. 22.
- ^ Rainer, Peter (2 December 1994). "MOVIE REVIEW : 'Tom & Viv': It's Not a Marriage Made in Heaven". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ James, Caryn (2 December 1994). "FILM REVIEW; The Dark Side of Genius and Its Supporting Cast". The New York Times. p. C3.
- ^ "Tom & Viv". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
- ^ "Tom and Viv". Entertainment Weekly. 17 February 1995.
- ^ Elley, Derek (15 April 1994). "Review: 'Tom & Viv'".
- ^ "Awards for 1994". National Board of Review. Archived from the original on November 25, 2010. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
- ^ "Awards for 1994". National Board of Review. Archived from the original on November 25, 2010. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- Tom & Viv at IMDb
- Tom & Viv at Rotten Tomatoes
- Tom & Viv at AllMovie
