best movie i've ever seen.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

The death of the cellist Jacqueline du Pré in 1987 was the cause of an unusually large amount of public grief and attention in Britain; the passing of a classical musician is normally marked by little more than an obituary in the broadsheet papers and possibly a brief item on the news. Du Pré, however, was someone the British had taken to their hearts. Part of the reason was her special relationship with the Elgar cello concerto, a work which has always played an important part in British cultural life; there may be room for disagreement with all three parts of the analysis, but at the time of her death I remember her being described as the greatest interpreter of the greatest work by the nation's greatest composer.The main reason, however, was the sheer tragedy of her life. She was a youthful prodigy who reached the top very early on; her famous recording of the Elgar concerto with Sir John Barbirolli was made when she was only twenty. Her marriage to the pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim made them a Golden Couple, the Dick Burton and Liz Taylor of classical music. And then, while still in her twenties, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She gave her last concert in 1973 at the age of 28, after which her condition quickly deteriorated. By the time of her death aged 42 she had become paralysed and was confined to a wheelchair. The film was based on a memoir written by Jacqueline's sister Hilary and brother Piers and concentrates on the relationship between the two sisters. Hilary du Pré was also a musician, in her case a flautist, but was much less famous than her sister. Even so, the film pays them equal attention, being divided into two sections, the first telling events from Hilary's point of view and the second from Jackie's. Hilary was the older of the two and during their childhood and early teens was regarded as being at least as promising as Jackie. Eventually, however, it was Jackie who achieved greater prominence and Hilary seems to have given up performing as a professional after her marriage to Christopher Finzi, son of the composer Gerald Finzi. Such a scenario could easily have led to bitter jealousy and rivalry, but in this case appears not to have done so; according to the film the sisters were devoted to one another as children and remained so as adults, even though Jackie seems to have done her best to live up to the old stereotype of artistic geniuses as highly-strung, eccentric and temperamental. Hilary, who was probably not a genius, seems to have been much more placid and level-headed, which enables her to cope with her sister's foibles. When Jackie announces that she wants to sleep with Christopher, Hilary acquiesces, believing that this will help her sister's complicated mental state, and even persuades her reluctant husband to consent to this unorthodox "adultery as therapy" arrangement. Of the main actors I was least taken with James Frain as Barenboim, whom he plays with a heavy foreign accent; the real Daniel Barenboim speaks much better English than this. The others, however, are all much better, especially Emily Watson as Jacqueline and Rachel Griffiths as Hilary, both of whom were nominated for Academy Awards. Both lost, Watson to Gwyneth Paltrow in "Shakespeare in Love" and Griffiths to Judi Dench in the same film. In both cases I would disagree with the Academy; Paltrow's performance was not a particularly distinguished one and Griffiths' contribution is much more substantial than Dench's brief cameo. The two actresses seem exquisitely well suited to their roles, with their contrasting styles of acting- Watson's more demonstrative, Griffiths' more restrained- bringing out the contrasting personalities of the two sisters. An adjective commonly used about Elgar's great concerto- which we hear at several key points in the movie- is "autumnal", and the director Anand Tucker seems to be trying to reflect this in the look of the film. Autumnal tones- dark reds, oranges, browns, yellows- predominate throughout much of the film, and most scenes feature a prominent object in one of these colours, often Jacqueline's dresses. Only towards the end are these colours replaced by more wintry greys, whites and pale blues, indicating symbolically that Jacqueline's autumn has now turned to winter during a period of her life which should have been her spring and summer. The film ends with her looking back at her childhood, seeing herself and Hilary playing on the beach as young girls."Hilary and Jackie" was not perhaps the greatest film made in 1998; my vote for "Best Picture" that year would have gone to Peter Weir's astounding "The Truman Show". Nor is it perhaps the greatest ever film about classical music to my mind that must be Milos Forman's equally astounding "Amadeus". It is, however, beautifully written, acted and directed, a riveting psychological portrait of musical genius, of love, of loss, of sisterhood and of understanding. I am surprised that we have not heard more of Anand Tucker since. 9/10 A goof. The film implies that Jacqueline du Pré died during the night of the Great Hurricane, 15th - 16th October 1987- we even see that notorious forecast with Michael Fish denying that a hurricane was on the way. In fact, she died a few days later, on 19th October. This may, however, have been a deliberate change to make the story seem more dramatic.

Directed by Anand Tucker, "Hilary and Jackie" released in 1998, is an involving film reportedly derived from the older sister, Hilary's memoir of her life with her younger sister from the 50's through the 80's. Right away the movie succeeds pulling in interest with great scenes of the characters as children, and the dynamics and feelings involved with the mother pushing her talented girls toward their instruments and talents. These were good foundation scenes for the 2 actresses, Emily Watson and Rachel Griffths to continue and build. Without going too much going into detail the story effectively looks at several forces which evolve and morph childhood into adulthood, and the pressures involved with adulthood. (spoiler) The movie is certainly interesting, however the pacing slows a bit and as the sisters become more distant, so too does the movie. Nevertheless, there were deserved nominations for the actresses. 7/10 Recommended.

I was only semi-familiar with Emily Watson (and not at all familiar with Rachel Griffiths) when "Hilary and Jackie" came out. When I saw it a few months later, I was blown away by both their performances. Showing the relationship and struggles between two musical sisters, the movie gives one a sense not only of how each sister envies the other, but of the strain under which a person in the musical world operates. Specifically, Jackie starts considering sabotaging her own violin just to relieve herself of the pressure. And I never could have predicted the grave ending.Anyway, it's a movie that I definitely recommend. It's music to anyone's ears (and eyes). If it started Emily Watson (happy birthday, Emily!) on a streak of playing women under stress, then so be it.Oh, and the comment about the story of two First Ladies? When Whoopi Goldberg hosted the Oscars the year that Watson and Griffiths were nominated, she jokingly described this movie as such. Did Emily Watson deserve an Oscar for her role here? Maybe, but I thought that "Life Is Beautiful" deserved everything (I can't believe that "Shakespeare in Love" won).

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.