This chilling, if bleak adaptation of Margaret Atwood's novel is set in a not-too-distant future which sees women enslaved by an ultra-right wing government. The fundamentalists who rule over so-called Gilead force fertile women to bear children for The Republic. Kate (Natasha Richardson) is captured and given to the Commander (Robert Duvall) and his wife (Faye Dunaway), who have failed to conceive their own children. Kate must endure enforced sex with the Commander, but she eventually falls in with chauffeur Nick (Aidan Quinn), who offers her love and a vision of a brighter future. The film, although often unpleasant, is packed with ideas and director Volker Schlöndorff vividly creates a nightmare world torn apart by tyranny and resistance. However, despite strong central performances (especially from the ever-reliable Duvall), Schlöndorff's movie ultimately engages the mind more than the heart.


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