Review of Hilary and Jackie (1998) by Dawdlingpoet — 20 Nov 2021

This is quite a good biopic, centering on the lives of two sisters, one of which is a world famous musician and the other has to live in her shadow. Different parts of the film show us things from either sisters lives and thus perspectives (The chronology is quite interestingly done, to provide context to earlier scenes). It is quite insightful and thought provoking, plus its certainly an arty film and of course, natually, it included a fair bit of instrumental (classical in tone) music - I suppose you could say the classical music highlights (or centers on) the fragility of the character shown on screen at that time. I thought Emily Watson gave a particularly good performance as Jackie (Jacqueline du Pre). Her frustrations and lack of social etiquette are clearly shown. The other sister, Hilary, is played by Rachel Griffiths - another good performance, although perhaps not quite as memorable as Emily's. I thought it was good that both sisters fragility/vulnerabilities were made clear and I did feel sorry for both at different times. There is definitely an element of perseverence present, even though its mainly very much in an upper class setting.

This is based on a true story, adapted from a book, and having seen the film, it has piqued my interest. Perhaps I'll read the book at some point but I'll say no more about the film so as not to give any spoilers. This is a thoughtful and insightful film with some quite poignant moments, so yes, I'd recommend it.