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A twisted relationship between a wealthy English couple and a young woman they take in, plays out against a stunning recreation of the Golden Age of 1920s Paris. In adapting Jean Rhys's 1928 autobiographical novel, Merchant Ivory achieved an artistic breakthrough that remains one of the team's finest works. In one of her greatest performances, Isabelle Adjani plays the vulnerable but complicated West-Indian Marya, who, after her shady husband Stefan (Anthony Higgins) is imprisoned, finds shelter in the home of a manipulative and lecherous English art patron (Alan Bates) and his painter wife (Maggie Smith). The dynamic between this trio is set against Hemingway's "moveable feast" of café culture and extravagant nightlife, glitter and literati, beneath which lie traces of something sinister.
Original Release
05/20/1981
US Release
10/25/1981
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Isabelle Adjani | Marya 'Mado' Zelli / Marya / Stephan's Wife |
Maggie Smith | Lois Heidler / Lois / H.J.'s Wife |
Alan Bates | H.J. Heidler / H.J. / Lois' Husband |
Anthony Higgins | Stephan Zelli / Stephan / Marya's Husband |
Suzanne Flon | Mme. Hautchamp / Edouard's Wife |
Sébastien Floche | Edouard |
Daniel Chatto | Guy |
Paulita Sedgwick | Esther |
Sheila Gish | Anna |
Bernice Stegers | Miss Nicholson |
Directors
Writers
James Ivory, Jean Rhys, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Michel Maingois
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Isabelle Adjani | Marya 'Mado' Zelli / Marya / Stephan's Wife |
Maggie Smith | Lois Heidler / Lois / H.J.'s Wife |
Alan Bates | H.J. Heidler / H.J. / Lois' Husband |
Anthony Higgins | Stephan Zelli / Stephan / Marya's Husband |
Suzanne Flon | Mme. Hautchamp / Edouard's Wife |
Sébastien Floche | Edouard |
Daniel Chatto | Guy |
Paulita Sedgwick | Esther |
Sheila Gish | Anna |
Bernice Stegers | Miss Nicholson |
Isabelle Canto da Maya | Cri-Cri |
François Viaur | Lefranc |
Wiley Wood | Cairn / Marya's Friend |
Dino Zanghi | Prison Guard |
Michel Such | Prison Guard |
jean-Pierre Dravel | Prison Guard |
Annie Noël | Maid |
Maurice Ribot | Pianist |
Pierre Julien | Impresario |
Humbert Balsan | Impresario's Friend |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
Humbert Balsan | Producer |
Roger Corman | Producer |
Jean-Pierre Mahot | Producer |
Ismail Merchant | Producer |
Connie Kaiserman | Producer |