All Passion Spent (1986)

The acclaimed BBC adaptation of Vita Sackville-West’s beloved novel starring Dame Wendy Hiller

Dame Wendy Hiller delivers a delicately nuanced performance in Vita Sackville-West’s classic story of emerging feminist identity in post-Victorian England.

"When can one please oneself if not in old age?" asks 85-year-old Lady Slane (Hiller), who frees herself from society’s expectations upon the death of her politically prominent husband. To the shock of her children, who seem more concerned with the disposition of the estate than with their mother’s happiness, the widow retreats to a cottage in the Hampstead countryside to rediscover herself.

Nominated for four BAFTA Awards (including best drama series and best actress), this BBC production brings Sackville-West’s best-known novel to the screen with all its emotional complexity, intellectual vigor, and profound feeling.

Her memories spread out like a landscape

This film is a three-part BBC special based on Vita Sackville-West's tale of the state of femininity in post-Victorian England.

We open with the death of Lady Slane's (Hiller) husband, a former viceroy of India. We see more from the aged children than the recent widow. And what we see of the children isn't pretty. Most of them are more worried about the money than their Mum, who they deem impractical and very amenable to do what they want with her.

Turns out, she isn't. Lady Slane decides to take a cottage in the Hampsteads, a home she'd seen thirty years prior that turns out to still be available for rent.

Instead of the society the family expects her to keep, she has tea mostly with the landlord and handyman. The only family member who visits often is great-granddaughter Deborah (Snowden) who is about to wed a Duke and isn't particularly happy about the situation.

It's fascinating to watch how these two generations of the family evolve and change as they have decisions to make about their lives and futures. The story's lovely and strongly emotional. Dame Wendy Hiller is an amazing actress and a beautiful woman herself.

On a personal note, it reminds me of what a treasure it was to have known my own great-grandmother. I miss her every day.

Rebecca Kyle, August 2008 September 3, 2008

Worthwhile

I found this story absolutely superb: cast, locations and content were authentically presented; the acting was flawless. To those of us who especially appreciate that era of history, it was also instsructive. I am sure I will view it another 6 times! July 5, 2008

Profound and a gem of a film, with multiple facets, nuances and eternal sparkle

Wendy Hiller and Harry Andrews deliver haunting and very, very beautiful performances in this, one of the best films I have ever seen. It is all--every bit of it--utterly charming, provocative, true, beautiful, and brimming with life in every scene.

And the reviews that speak of Vita's feminism, though true, miss entirely the point that this film is as completely relevant socially, emotionally, and spiritually now as it was in Vita's 1930's.

The film is not glitzy, or fast, or loud, but it is one of my few all-time favorite films. Like the rest of them, it seeps into one's soul like wine falling slowing through water, eventually coloring one's whole view of life. You will not be quite the same once you have given yourself the gift of All Passion Spent. September 18, 2007

Dame Wendy Hiller at Her Best!

Seniors are usually viewed as weak and fragile people, or eccentric if they are strong in our youth-oriented society. The fabulous Wendy Hiller portrays a strong-minded elderly Lady in this excellent TV mini-series, breaking the stereotype and showing that seniors have aspirations of their own like any other age groups. Enjoy her other Oscar winning films--Separate Tables and Pygmalion - Criterion Collection September 12, 2007

great acting

This is an exceptional piece on a woman finally exercising her own thoughts and desires at a time when women didn't have these choices. November 2, 2006

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