Overrated and overhyped

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

I appreciate this film for its technical quality, as well as its ambition in trying to film a novel that is written in the stream of consciousness style, however it fails overall because of Ms. Redgrave's performance. Her acting destroys the tone of the movie in a extremely jarring way; the contrast between her just-swallowed-a-bottle-of-Prozac happiness and the other plot lines and draws the viewer out of the experience of the film. The novel's tone is much darker and Clarissa's point-of- view much more based on regret, and more in sync with the post-traumatic-stress and depression of Septimus and the ennui and disenfranchisement of her daughter. Her performance wasn't only in the wrong tone, but it was incredibly phony; a viewer should never see acting happening. This is the same gripe I have with Rupert Grave's performance of Septimus; his acting is too stagy and I never truly believed him when shouting "EVANS! EVANS!"Probably will be (and perhaps should be) the last time a film adaptation is made of this novel.

This movie is a good transposition of the Woolf's novel. Woolf is famous for the almost complete lack of plot of her books (leaving apart the first one, some very few short stories, and Orlando), being interested in writing about what characters are thinking of, and not about what they're actually doing or saying. It was a challenge for the director and the cast, but the result is OK. The weak points are: the first sequence (a short narration about Septimus during second world war: everyone can understand what happened without looking at it, and its "style" is somehow inconsistent with the rest of the movie) and the music, which was rather poorly chosen or written (in a movie in which there is little dialog and a lot of close up of people "thinking" the soundtrack should deserve greater attention). Very good casting and acting (everyone, not just the two leading roles) and gorgeous cinematography. However, if you like movies in which something does actually happen, don't choose this one. And if you are looking for something that perfectly "capture" the complex description of the feelings of Clarissa and Septimus... read a book and don't watch a movie.

I had never heard either of Virginia Wolf nor of Mrs Dalloway but my mum received a free DVD of this film with her daily newspaper ( a very common practice in the UK apparently ) so she gave me this on a recent visit to England and I thought "Why not" as I have always enjoyed Vanessa Redgrave in the films I have seen of her. I think that to appreciate fully this sort of film you need to be English or have lived many years in England. Much attention is given to recreating the period, the accents, the costumes and decors of the 1920's in that country and the result is truly remarkable. I can understand Americans and other foreigners not appreciating this as it is very far removed from their lifestyle. Also, the plot is rather tame ( I would have preferred more sex and passion ) but presumably the novel in question did not include this. I was also confused by the introduction of a "sub plot" whereby a WW1 soldier with shell shock married to an Italian wife commits suicide and couldn't understand the relation between this and Mrs Dalloway. In spite of these misgivings I actually felt pleasure watching the film. The actress who portrayed Clarissa Dalloway young, Natacha something-or-other, had subliminal beauty which reminded me of the great actresses of the 1940's, something you very rarely see nowadays, and I have always liked a great deal Michael Kitchen every time I have seen him in a film. I would therefore recommend the film to all those who like "period pieces" but would warn that the plot is rather tame and subdued and that if you are looking for passion, sex and romance you might be left disappointed, or at least hungering for more, especially as the ending is rather flat and unoriginal. As you can see, my feelings are rather mixed, there is good and bad but globally my appreciation will be positive, hence a rating of 7 !!

This film is VERY little less than a masterpiece!It actually works on several levels, all blending effortlessly together. Redgrave is absolutely sublime and shows what a great actress she really is - she sails thru the film with grace and dignity and lends real spirit to the character whom she plays. Surrounded by a stellar cast, most notably Graves and McElhone she makes this film a sheer delight to watch.And you can watch it again and again and never get tired of the wit and beauty which is ever-present all thru the film.