In 1901, the wife of the warden of Pittsburgh Prison sneaked hacksaws to two convicted murderers she believed innocent and deserted hearth and home (and four children) to run off with them through snow-covered countryside towards Canada. This film by Australian director Gillian Armstrong, who made My Brilliant Career, examines at some length the all-consuming passion that led to such a hopeless action. In casting Diane Keaton as the 35-ish Bible-pushing wife and Mel Gibson as the main object of her obsession, Armstrong cheats to a degree, since the physical attraction of Miss Keaton at her most luminous and Mr Gibson at his most casually charming is all too obvious. Even so, one is drawn along to the story's inevitable end in fairly hypnotic fashion. The dingy backgrounds outside of the prison scenes fairly creak with Victorian trappings and indeed Kate Soffel's family life is sketched in with rather too much warmth for our ease in accepting her flight from it. But Keaton lightens this strain by skilfully steering Mrs Soffel from soberly loving mother to faintly zany fugitive. Gibson's American accent is again amazingly good and fans of the stars will enjoy them in these slightly offbeat roles.

©ipc tx. Film content from TVTimes