Jeremy Irons plays Tom Crick, a history teacher that is having trouble getting through to his class. His wife Mary(Sinead Cusack), herself in a battle with depression, feels a disconnect with her husband. Mr. Crick grapples with memories of his childhood days that interferes with his present day activities. In desperation to connect with his students, Crick has himself believing he can grab their interest in history by telling them stories from his young adult life. Most of his stories are of a sexual nature and his tales have nothing to do with history. Crick continues with his erotic revelations and even treats his class to a surreal field trip through his most haunting of memories. When forced into retirement, Tom finds that one of his most stubborn students(Ethan Hawke)finally understands there was a certain call for his flirt on the edge of madness.
Young Tom is played by Grant Warnock and young Mary is aptly played by a charming Lena Headey. Very strong sexual situations, nudity and an abortion scene calls for an R rating. My favorite sequence is a version of show me yours, I'll show you mine. I found this drama very sad, but yet very interesting. The switching between past and present is not too distracting and an important method of sustaining the story line. The supporting cast features: David Morrissey, Callum Dixon, John Heard and Pete Postlethwaite. Watch for a brief glimpse of a young Maggie Gyllenhaal. If you happen to be suffering any degree of depression, this may not be the film for you; but I really enjoyed it.
Young Tom is played by Grant Warnock and young Mary is aptly played by a charming Lena Headey. Very strong sexual situations, nudity and an abortion scene calls for an R rating. My favorite sequence is a version of show me yours, I'll show you mine. I found this drama very sad, but yet very interesting. The switching between past and present is not too distracting and an important method of sustaining the story line. The supporting cast features: David Morrissey, Callum Dixon, John Heard and Pete Postlethwaite. Watch for a brief glimpse of a young Maggie Gyllenhaal. If you happen to be suffering any degree of depression, this may not be the film for you; but I really enjoyed it.