Starring James Wilby, Kristin Scott, Rupert Graves Dir. Charles Sturridge.

I remember as an adolescent boy reading A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh which was part of the leaving cert. English course. At the time the book seemed to have been such a sad book but no more so than many others.

I went to see this movie wondering if Charles Sturridge (director of Brideshead Revisited) could bring out this melancholy - I wasn't disappointed. It is a long time since I have seen such a moving film. It is completely heart-rending and superbly produced in every way. The setting is an actual gothic British stately home which is probably the most hideous that the period produced.

The plot is young aristocratic couple living in hideous stately home, she (Kristin Scott) gets bored with husband (James Wilby), decides to become a London socialite and has an affair with another man (the gorgeous Rupert Graves) - the rest of the plot I will leave to your viewing. One person worthy of mention apart from the excellent leads is Angelica Huston who plays a wonderfully madcap but sensitive friend of the family. If the film has a drawback it is that the essentially worthless people come across as having some form of worth, a view with which Waughwouldnothave agreed. One final note, bring a box of tissues.

Ciaran Coleman