Widow's Peak Movie Review

Hugh Leonard originally wrote Widow's Peak for the late Maureen O'Sullivan and her daughter Mia Farrow. O'Sullivan was to play Miss O'Hare and Farrow would be Edwina Broome. When Widow's Peak finally went into production, Farrow inherited the role of Miss O'Hare and Natasha Richardson wound up playing Edwina Broome. The story takes place in Kilshannon in the 1920s. Mrs. Doyle O'Counihan (Joan Plowright) is the town's grand dame. She has a son, Godfrey (Adrian Dunbar), who falls madly in love with the elegant American widow Broome. Miss O'Hare detests Mrs. Broome on sight and she soon spreads the gossip that Edwina wants to murder her. Sure enough, Miss O'Hare suddenly vanishes and Edwina is arrested for her “murder.” Mysteries pile up on mysteries, but, fear not, all will ultimately be revealed. The pleasure here is watching three terrific actresses doing star turns as only they can. Farrow, lovely as ever, starts out by persuasively making Miss O'Hare seem as mad as a hatter. Plowright is her usual droll self and Richardson is a perfectly radiant Edwina. Even though Jim Broadbent (as Clancy) and Plowright were both in 1992's Enchanted April, the charm of Widow's Peak is quite different and much darker in tone. It's the ideal film to rent on a rainy Saturday afternoon when there's nothing worth seeing at the neighborhood multiplex. Filmed on location in County Wicklow, Ireland.

1994 (PG) 102m/C GB Mia Farrow, Joan Plowright, Natasha Richardson, Adrian Dunbar, Jim Broadbent, John Kavanagh, Gerard McSorley, Anne Kent, Rynagh O'Grady, Michael James Ford, Garrett Keogh; D: John Irvin; W: Hugh Leonard; C: Ashley Rowe; M: Carl Davis. VHS, LV