Elegant, civilised, decadent. Such adjectives apply to the aristocrats (and their acquaintances) of this 1910 story. Kate (Helena Bonham Carter) is controlled by her guardian aunt (Charlotte Rampling), who soon rumbles Kate's affair with journalist Merton (Linus Roache) and threatens to cut her - and her opium-addicted father (Michael Gambon) - off without a penny. A sullen Kate has no choice. Enter Milly (Alison Elliott) - American, rich and dying. Horrified at a friend's idea of marrying Milly for her money, Kate has soon launched a similar scheme of her own, involving Merton, Milly and a seductive trip to Venice. Bonham Carter dominates this film and the story falters when she's off screen. Drily delivering dialogue in a most un-actorly manner, she never entirely loses our sympathy even when plotting dark deeds, since her mental grasp of the role enables her to convey complex emotions and moral uncertainty before our eyes. The performance gained an Oscar nomination but shamefully did not win.

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