Main Cast: Willem Dafoe, Miranda Richardson, Rosemary Harris, Tim Dutton, Nickolas Grace
Release Year: 1994
Country: US/UK
Run Time: 125 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Willem Dafoe stars as groundbreaking early 20th century American poet T.S. Eliot in this biopic focusing on Eliot's disastrous marriage. Young Tom Eliot meets the flamboyant Vivienne Haigh-Wood (Miranda Richardson) while they are both students at Oxford University in England in 1914. Eliot is studying under the famous writer and philosopher Bertrand Russell (Nickolas Grace). Tom and Viv elope after a very brief courtship, without the consent of her parents and against the advice of Viv's brother Maurice (Tim Dutton). On the honeymoon, Tom learns that Viv suffers from a severe hormonal imbalance which causes frequent menstruation. She is under the care of a doctor who calls her problems emotional and prescribes medications which worsen her condition. Viv is moody, often despondent, and frequently drunk. While Tom works as a bank clerk and tries to establish himself as a writer, Viv serves as his secretary and sometimes his muse, but more and more often she embarrasses them in public with her behavior. Yet her influence prevents Tom, who wants to become thoroughly British and a member of the Church of England, from becoming too staid. Eventually, Tom reluctantly commits his wife to a mental asylum and their troubled marriage continues to plague his life and color his work. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
Review
Something's missing from Tom and Viv, and that something is Tom, better known as T.S. Eliot. Films (or plays, for that matter) about writers are always difficult to pull off; the writer is presumably famous and interesting because of his work, not his life, and translating literary essence to another medium is practically impossible. Therefore, to provide drama and interest, a filmmaker usually concentrates on what was interesting and unusual in the writer's life and tries to relate that to his work. Viv, Tom's wife, was certainly interesting, and the film devotes a considerable amount of time to her travails. But aside from the fact that she embarrassed and inconvenienced her husband, the viewer learns little about how she affected him. Tom just sort of evaporates midway through the film; he's still there, but he's just a shadow, certainly one of Eliot's "hollow men," but not one which holds interest or demands attention. This is more the fault of the writer and director than the actor; Willem Dafoe does a credible impersonation of Eliot and seems to be doing all that is asked of him. Miranda Richardson, with the much showier part, grabs it and runs for all she is worth, using her enormous skill and facility to create an agonizingly annoying yet sympathetic character. Rosemary Harris brings stately grandeur and class to the role of Viv's mother; hers is a fine and captivating performance. Ultimately frustrating and unsatisfying, Tom and Viv is partially redeemed by the artistry of these two women. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Philip Locke - Viv's father; Geoffrey Bayldon - Harwent; Lou Hirsch - Captain Todd; Simon McBurney - Dr Reginald Miller; Joseph O'Conor - Bishop of Oxford; John Savident - Sir Frederick Lamb; Linda Spurrier - Edith Sitwell; Roberta Taylor - Ottoline Morrell; Donald Paul Pemrick; Christopher Baines - Verger; Clare Holman - Louise Purdon; Hugh Simon - Concierge; Michelle Guish; Anna Chancellor - Woman; Joanna McCallum - Virginia Woolf; Michael Attwell - W.I. Janes; James Greene - Dr Cyriax; William Osborne - Curate
Credit
Mark Raggett - Art Director, John Kay - Associate Producer, Michelle Guish - Casting, Phoebe Degaye - Costume Designer, Sean Guest - First Assistant Director, John Spencer - First Assistant Director, Brian Gilbert - Director, Tony Lawson - Editor, Herve Schneid - Editor, Paul Colichman - Executive Producer, Miles A. Copeland III - Executive Producer, Debbie Wiseman - Composer (Music Score), Peter Glossop - Musical Direction/Supervision, Morag Ross - Makeup, Jamie Leonard - Production Designer, Martin Fuhrer - Cinematographer, Peter Samuelson - Producer, Marc Samuelson - Producer, Harvey Kass - Producer, Jill Quertier - Set Designer, Michael Hastings - Screenwriter, Adrian Hodges - Screenwriter, Michael Hastings - Play Author
Tom & Viv is a 1984 play by British playwright, Michael Hastings, which tells the story of the relationship between the American poet, T. S. Eliot, and his first wife, Vivienne Haigh-Wood Eliot. They were married in 1915 after a brief courtship, and separated in 1933 though they never divorced.[1]
