By Biray Alsac
Arizona Daily Wildcat
February 23, 1998

An unhealthy inheritance

"Washington Square," a new film based on the classic Henry James novella of the same name, brings an interesting twist to the common tale of love, romance, and happily ever after. A bit less traumatic than "Romeo and Juliet" and a tad more eccentric than "A Walk in the Clouds," "Washington Square" is a very different and fulfilling look at a realistic "love story."

Starring Jennifer Jason Leigh and Ben Chaplin ("The Truth About Cats and Dogs"), the film is set in 19th century Victorian New York. Leigh plays Catherine Sloper, an average, clumsy, young woman lacking in both talent and beauty - the daughter of one of the richest men in town. This final aspect, of course, turns the heads of many men, desiring of her wealthy inheritance - a sum of more than $300,000 (who even knows what that would be today).

Chaplin plays the handsome Mr. Morris Townsend, a poor, hard-working man who seems to fall desperately in love with Catherine. Townsend, rejected completely by Catherine's father, continuously reassures Catherine that his love is true to her heart, and has nothing to do with her inheritance.

Torn between her relationship with her father and her only true love, Catherine has to decide between the two men in her life. Choosing Townsend would mean losing her father and her inheritance. A tough call, no question. Ultimately, Catherine is the victim of betrayal and deceit, heightening her sense of disillusionment with love.

Leigh is an actress of many talents. She has an incredible gift for creating strange and complex characters that remain quite genuine and believable. Her performances are, for the most part, exquisite, and this current role upholds that standard. The energy and purity that her character possesses drive the story to its appropriate conclusion. She carries the movie deftly throughout the course of the story, with the other characters acting as fine supports.

The story of "Washington Square" is emotionally active, playing on the viewer's fears, passions and sense of wonder. There is an innocence in Catherine which is taken advantage of, abused and manipulated throughout her life. The mental abuse she endures eventually changes her from a naive, attached, trapped little girl to an independent, loving, mature, smart woman.

The Victorian-set scene also faces the challenges of re-creating New York in the 1840s; the film opens up with a precisely choreographed long take, starting from one side of a park, panning through the societal atmosphere, down the street, to a house, through the window, up the stairs, into a room where a mother is dying while giving birth to twins, one of whom dies as well.

The scenery and costumes are sweet and masterful; the mannerisms and disciplines of each character are executed with style and grace. Each shot is marked tonally with multiple, solid colors. The film, if nothing else, is always pleasing to look at.

Bill Fannin, manager of Gallagher Theatre, brought "Washington Square" to campus for a preview screening two weeks ago, and was surprisingly pleased with it. He once read a Henry James novel a long time ago and swore he'd never read another. But after watching this film, he walked out of the theater wanting to pick up the novel and give James another look.

"Something I'd thought I'd never do," he said.

It's really that good.