oragex This is the real story of a cellist (some sort of musical instrument) player, as described by her sister. Although I'm by far not a fan of anything musical in movies, this one is real, so real, so close to the human nature, it's a gem. Rarely seen this on screen, both the script, directing and acting. Because, this is not only about the magical, almost hard to believe acting of Emily Watson, it's also about an unbelievable directing and, I guess, a very deep and complete script about human emotions. Note that I'm mostly talking about the second half of the movie where the action is replaced by some more emotional detail. Emily has this emotional play that is simply stunning. I've first seen her in Equilibrium at the moment of her death (mostly the only good scene in the movie), when I understood how deep emotionally this person is. But credit must as well go to the movie director, and I really want to point this out. Just like in the music industry where the credit goes too often to the interpret, and not to the music writers. In this movie, the credit goes equally both to the directing and the actors. Rare gem, if you can understand the human nature or have experienced something more or less similar as the leading role.

moonspinner55 In 1950s London, the real-life du Pré sisters--Hilary, a promising flautist, and Jacqueline, an animated, intense cellist--share an ordinary/extraordinary closeness. They are practically telepathic in their thoughts, yet a rivalry over their musical talents is always bubbling under the surface. This extends to their adult lives, as Hilary becomes a devoted wife and mother while Jackie flails away, alternately in contempt of the cello and yet attached to it as if by force. Jackie's neediness, which parlays into an off-putting promiscuousness, nearly breaks the sisterly bond, with Jackie desiring to 'share' Hilary's good-hearted husband. It is at this point in the picture that "Hilary and Jackie" becomes an unfortunate muddle of different melodramatic themes, yet the psychotic undercurrents of Jackie's behavior don't seem to set off any alarms on the screen. As flaky Jackie, Emily Watson (who resembles a young Susannah York) is focused and brave, but she is unable to help us reach this troubled soul (the built-in tragic story-arch doesn't help much, either). Rachel Griffiths has a far less showy role, however her character is one we can relate to (the grounded sister with a firm sense of responsibility). The film is extremely well-produced but, despite some dialogue or situations which ring false, the earliest scenes in the movie are best. It loses its way in the third act, becoming a tangled mess of sad episodes. ** from ****

bob the moo As a child Hilary was the talented musician on the flute and the younger Jacqueline was encouraged to keep up if she wanted to accompany her sister on trips to musical events. So Jackie practiced hard on her cello to do so, gradually becoming better than her sister. As adults Hilary is now very much in the shadow of her brilliant sister Jackie, who is booked solid for shows. However where Hilary finds happiness and support from her partner and husband Kiffer, Jackie grows increasingly isolated from others. The pair's relationship drifts apart but comes together again to produce one traumatic moment in their relationship.I'm sure it has been done many times but I still found this film's structure to be pretty clever. The central traumatic act in the narrative occurs halfway through the film; up until then we follow things from Hilary's point of view and then in the second half we jump backwards and work up to it again (and beyond) from Jacqueline's (more or less). The effect is that the first half of the film is engaging as it develops along lines we don't know while the second film is engaging as it underpins the reasons for Jacqueline's character and where she goes from there. I put of watching the film because I had no knowledge of the characters and no real interest in their music, however now that I have watched it I am glad I did as it is well made and interesting. It is very character driven and evenly paced, which will annoy some viewers but for me it worked really well and produced a story that didn't require you to know the people involved because you felt you did by the end.Watson leads the cast really well, bringing out the innocent of her character as easily as she does the spite within Jackie. Griffiths yet again shows her talent in taking on yet another accent and strange character and pulling it off. They work well together although their best scenes are early on. Support is good from Frain, Morrissey, Dance, Imrie and others but the film is lead well by the main two actresses who work well with the material given them.Overall this is a well paced film that will annoy some but is heavy in quality. The character development in the script is strong and the cast respond well to it. Tucker controls it all well with a good eye for a scene and some imaginative visual touches and brings out a film that is well-structured and engaging even if it won't be to everyone's tastes.

Keith F. Hatcher I have before me a 1965 vinyl LP record with a beautiful portrait of the then twenty-year-old Jacqueline du Pré and her cello. On it she plays the Elgar and Delius Cello Concertos, classics in her repertoire which have never been bettered. Indeed, years later, the "gran maestro" Mstislav Rostropovich on being asked why was it that he had never made a recording of the Elgar Concerto, said that a young English woman had already made the definitive version to which he had nothing to add. I also have various remastered CD recordings - with or without her then husband, Daniel Barenboim as accompanying pianist or orchestra conductor, ranging from Paradis and Saint-Saëns to Fauré, Franck and Dvorák, as well as Sir Edward Elgar's beautiful "Enigma Variations".Jacqueline du Pré was born just a few months before me and we thus celebrate 60 years on this iniquitous planet. Which is the best that can be said about the film "Hilary and Jackie" - iniquitous, "gross", vulgar............ When I learned she had got multiple sclerosis and had stopped playing her cello, I cried for a week; and when she finally died, another week. She shall be remembered for her exquisite music, not for the trashy version of a film like this one.I am sorry, but I just could not bear seeing the film to the end. It had nothing to do with the Jacqueline du Pré whom I loved as a sensitive, intelligent, brilliant musician. Everything which this film lacks.As the Spanish actor Paco Rabal once said: No god could be so cruel.This film is cruel.Even today, I show the LP recording with the beautiful portrait to my teenage students in an endeavour (mostly wasted) to persuade them to stop picking their noses.I give this film a three out of ten - ONLY because there are fragments of her own music in it; as for the rest of the film - ZERO.