The Governess

London TV commercials director Sandra Goldbacher made her feature directorial debut with this early Victorian England drama filmed on the Isle of Arran. In London, Rosina Da Silva (Minnie Driver) is shaken by the murder of her father, a wealthy Jewish merchant. To deal with family debts, Rosina ...more

A film that tries to cover a broad swath of material, from anti-Semitism to employee exploitation to early experiments in photography, The Governess succeeds remarkably well at offering provocative and thoughtful takes on all of its subjects. Minnie Driver makes Rosina Da Silva a determined woman, who is also believably gullible when her employer, Charles Cavendish, played by the reliable Tom Wilkinson, takes her to bed and then steals her ideas for his work in photography. Rosina is given a ...more