Evelyn Waugh's tragi-comic dissection of the indolent aristocracy in pre-war England is brought to the screen with all the loving attention to period detail one might expect from Charles Sturridge, the director of the epic Brideshead Revisited series. In comparison, this is a chamber piece, brilliantly acted by its talented young leads - James Wilby as the kindly but dull cuckold, Rupert Graves as his smarmy upstart rival and, best of all, Kristin Scott Thomas as the adulterous wife - who more than hold their own, in illustrious company, against a string of eye-catching performances (Judi Dench, for example, won a Best Supporting Actress BAFTA award). The stately pacing works in the film's favour, lending resonance to a story which - for all the bizarre black humour of the climactic scenes involving Alec Guinness - is ultimately deeply affecting.

©ipc tx. Film content from TVTimes