A movie can get away with having either shoddy plotting or cliched dialogue and somehow still succeed. However, one thing it should never be without is a point, which is why "The Governess" ultimately fails.
Whatever filmmaker Sandra Goldbacher is trying to say with this uneven period drama gets lost amid all of her unconvincing plot contrivances, and the film seems to coast on the strengths of some handsome costuming and European scenery, as well as a strangely self-conscious lead performance by Minnie Driver.Even worse, the film makes the mistake of pairing the twenty-something actress on-screen with the much-older Tom Wilkinson ("The Full Monty"), an unappealing move that looks almost incestuous.
Driver stars as Rosina, the headstrong eldest daughter of a Jewish family living in London during the early 1840s. When her father ismurdered, her family is plunged into debt and she is forced to look for work.
She soon finds employment as the governess for the Cavendishes, a wealthy family living on a remote Scottish island. Posing as a Christian named Mary Blackchurch, she immediately butts heads with her charge, spoiled pre-teen Clementina (Florence Hoath), and her condescending mother (Harriet Walter).
She also discovers that she and the head of the household, Charles (Wilkinson), share a passion for science. And as she begins to help him with his photographic studies, the two also indulge in their physical passion.
Goldbacher, making her feature-film directing debut, tries to address a number of issues (including ethnic bigotry and emotional estrangement) but is unable to treat them with anything but a superficial manner.
Complicating matters is Driver, who seems utterly bewildered by her character's motivations. Of course, it doesn't help that her part is so underwritten and underdeveloped - but that's pretty much the case with all of the characters here.
And frankly, she and Wilkinson both look uneasy during the lovemaking scenes, which, as mentioned earlier, are extremely unappetizing.
"The Governess" is rated R for female and full male nudity, vulgar sexual references, simulated sex, use of ethnic slurs, a violent tantrum and scattered use of profanity.