Review of Tom & Viv (1994) by Penny C — 17 Jun 2007

Tom and Viv is a powerful story centered on one woman's fight to be an individual in mid-nineteenth century British society. Miranda Richardson does an excellent job of portraying the emotional depth of an intelligent, carefree woman forced into living a conventional, traditional life while her doctors, husband (acclaimed American poet T.

S. Eliot), and family believe her to be suffering from mental illness. Richardson captures the rage, quirkiness, and strength of a woman trying to make a difference in the world when nearly everyone she meets tries to keep her in her place.

William Dafoe, as Tom, brilliantly shows the effects of Viv's upstarts on a man seeking to maintain traditional societal values and blend into a conventional, though artistic and intellectual, world.

While the movie does not delve too deeply into Eliot's poetry, it centers on his life and the life of the woman he claimed to love; perhaps, making a statement on how life blends into art. Ultimately, Tom and Viv is a tragic story about the inadequate health system offered to women in the 1930s and how societal conformity put a wrench in the love and marriage of two brilliant people.

It enrages the feminist, humanitarian, and author in me, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in a deep and compelling story of both a poet and a woman's fall.