Enchanted April

Dour women escape to the Italian Seaside

Details:

An all star cast with Miranda Richardson (Mapp & Lucia, the Harry Potter Franchise), Josie Lawrence (Robin Hood), Joan Plowright (Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont), Polly Walker (Emma), Jim Broadbent (The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe), and Michael Kitchen (Foyle’s War, Out of Africa). Directed by Mike Newell in 1991.

Running Time:

1 hr. 33 min

Overview:

On a gloomy and rainy April day, Lotty Wilkins (Josie Lawrence) and Rose Arbuthnot (Miranda Richardson), see an ad in the paper for an Italian Villa to rent for a month. Discontented with their lives and marriages, they see this as the perfect opportunity to escape and finally do something for themselves. Unable to afford the rent on their own, they add two more ladies to their party, the gloomy Mrs. Fisher (Joan Plowright) who is stuck in the glory days of her Victorian past and the glamorous Lady Caroline Dester (Polly Walker) who is eager to escape into anonymity and hide from the cloying masses that follow her around. These total strangers embark on their epic girls trip to the Italian seaside unaware of how transformative and healing the month together would be.

What I Enjoyed:

This was such a sweet movie with solid acting (Michael Kitchen is perfection). The storyline could have easily gone very feminist or scandalous, but didn’t. It truly was about ladies (and gentlemen too) who just needed a vacation and a new environment to see all the love that was in their lives. It was heartwarming and refreshing. But be forewarned…you will be looking up Italian villas on VRBO because we all need an enchanted April!

Content Consideration:

There is no sexual content or nudity.

Where to Find:

This is available streaming on Amazon (for rent or purchase) or you can buy the DVD here.

Read or Listen to the Book:

This movie is based on the incredible book The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim (1922). Her writing is exquisite and the internal dialogue, narrative and story arcs really bring the characters to life in ways that the movie doesn’t even come close. In particular, you go from hating Mr. Wilkins in the beginning to loving him by the end…and that was no easy literary feat! Audible has a beautiful narration of it read by actress Eleanor Bron that you can listen to here.

Trailer:

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