DramaRomance

The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne

- An unlikely relationship based on love, faith, and a little deception.

A penniless middle-aged spinster scrapes by giving piano lessons in the Dublin of the 1950s. She makes a sad last bid for love with a fellow resident of her rundown boarding house, who imagines she has the money to bankroll the business he hopes to open.

Release Date : 1987-12-23

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : United British Artists (UBA)Handmade Films

Production Country : United Kingdom

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Judith Hearne

Original Name : Maggie Smith

Gender : Female

Character Name : James Madden

Original Name : Bob Hoskins

Gender : Male

Character Name : Aunt D'Arcy

Original Name : Wendy Hiller

Gender : Female

Character Name : Mrs. Rice

Original Name : Marie Kean

Gender : Female

Character Name : Bernard Rice

Original Name : Ian McNeice

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mary

Original Name : Rudi Davies

Gender : Female

Character Name : Moira O'Neill

Original Name : Prunella Scales

Gender : Female

Character Name : Edie Marinan

Original Name : Áine Ní Mhuirí

Gender : Female

Character Name : Mrs Friel

Original Name : Sheila Reid

Gender : Female

Character Name : Mr Lenehan

Original Name : Niall Buggy

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sister Ignatius

Original Name : Kate Binchy

Gender : Female

Character Name : Sister Mary-Paul

Original Name : Martina Stanley

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mrs Mullen

Original Name : Veronica Quilligan

Gender : Female

Character Name : The Major

Original Name : Frank Egerton

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dr Bowe

Original Name : Leonard Maguire

Gender : Male

Character Name : Owen O'Neill

Original Name : Kevin Flood

Gender : Male

Character Name : Una O'Neill

Original Name : Catherine Cusack

Gender : Female

Character Name : Kevin O'Neill

Original Name : Peter Gilmore

Gender : Male

Character Name : Shaun O'Neill

Original Name : James Holland

Gender : Male

Character Name : Youth at Liquor Store (as Aiden Murphy)

Original Name : Aidan Gillen

Gender : Male

Character Name : Young Judith

Original Name : Emma Jane Lavin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Priest

Original Name : Dick Sullivan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Young Priest

Original Name : Alan Radcliffe

Gender : Male

Character Name : Taxi Driver

Original Name : Seamus Newham

Gender : Male

Character Name : Taxi Driver

Original Name : Paul Boyle

Gender : Male

Character Name : Old Woman

Original Name : Isolde Cazelet

Gender : Female

Character Name : Old Woman

Original Name : Marjorie Hogan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Waiter

Original Name : Gerard O'Hagan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Girl Giggler

Original Name : Anna Murphy

Gender : Male

Character Name : Girl Giggler

Original Name : Gemma Murphy

Gender : Male

Character Name : Drunk in Pub

Original Name : Paddy Joyce

Gender : Male

Reviews

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2022-11-14

Maggie Smith offers quite a compelling performance in this adaptation of Brian Moore's novel. She is the eponymous piano teacher, having fallen on hard times since the death of her aunt (Dame Wendy Hiller). She comes to live in a boarding house in Dublin where she encounters a rather curious dynamic amongst the guests: the proprietress, her son, and her brother "Madden" (Bob Hoskins). She takes rather a shine to him, and the beautiful jewellery on her fingers leads him to believe that she might be useful backing his proposed hamburger business venture. Wires get crossed, and we discover that this lady has a few demons of her own. The story itself is fairly profound. It does not swipe at 1950s Dublin life, it exposes it to us. The hypocrisies of the church, of the middle class, the attitudes towards alcohol and sex are laid bare for us to observe and judge as we will. That is one of director Jack Clayton's better strategies for this ostensibly rather downbeat, frequently quite depressing piece of cinema. It doesn't deal at all with sectarianism, and is significantly more potent for that - it is very focussed on this woman adrift, hiding behind a facade as much of her own making as societal. Hoskins actually comes across as a bit of a cad, and quite a ruthless one at that, and there is a superbly seedy effort from Ian McNeice as "Bernard", whose corpulence and sleaziness contrast well with the supposed "respectable house" offered by his meddling landlady mother "Mrs. Rice" (Marie Keen). The story is episodic in nature, which does rob it of any real sense of progress, though. It resets itself once or twice too often, before an ending that, though slightly optimistic, has a sort of negating sense to it, too. The attention to detail is good, the Dublin scenarios, costumes and photography support, effortlessly, this leading lady in one of her best roles.