Recovered Classic: Hilary and Jackie


Real-life stories of tortured musical genius have a habit of being turned into powerful movies, as Shine, Amadeus, Bird and The Doors can testify. Back in 1999, a worthy addition to that acclaimed list arrived in the shape of debut director Anand Tucker’s tempestuous tale of celebrated cellist Jacqueline du Pre, whose career was tragically cut short by multiple sclerosis at the age of 27 before she died 15 years later in 1988.

Adapted from the book A Genius in the Family (which was written by Jacquline’s brother Piers and older sister Hilary) Tucker’s fascinating film is essentially an absorbing examination of Jacqueline’s meteoric rise to musical prominence. But it also offers an incredibly intimate insight into her relationship with Hilary, so much so in fact that the music ends up taking something of a back seat.

Carefully following their childhood years, when Jacqueline was initially outshone by Hilary’s brilliance on the flute, Tucker charts a parallel course between the younger sister’s blossoming musical ability and her insecure emotional development. As they grow older, neither girl is able to sever the strong family bond which made them virtually inseparable, the point being driven home in graphic fashion when they later go to the extreme of “sharing” Hilary’s husband.

But as Jacqueline’s career soars, Hilary’s love of music dwindles, the latter opting for a quiet married life in the country while her famous sister travels the world, the irony being that Jacqueline soon tires of her fame and craves the love, security and contented existence now being enjoyed by Hilary.

Once illness begins to rob Jacqueline of her astonishing gift, we watch through Hilary’s distraught eyes as a brilliant career is destroyed and a musical genius is helplessly ravaged. So while music might be at the heart of the film, it’s not really about music, it’s about a family in the throes of suppressed emotional turmoil. How one woman who was so much in command onstage, was reduced to child-like immaturity and insecurity when she stepped off it.

Skillfully adapted and directed with style and sensitivity, the undoubted standouts are the two lead actresses, Emily Watson and Rachel Griffiths. As Jacqueline, Watson is sensational, giving a compelling and memorable portrayal in a demanding role which required considerable effort in order to make it entirely convincing. It’s a striking performance, Watson capturing all the remarkable subtleties, mannerisms and character traits which made up Jacqueline’s complex personality.

Griffiths is also in sublime form as Hilary, the sister who finds herself consistently outshone by her younger sibling, even on the day she announces that she’s getting married. We’re also left to ponder whether she might perhaps have been even more gifted than her sister, a possibly glorious career having been nipped in the bud by a music teacher who crushed her spirit.

A deeply involving film which is unusually knowing for a biopic, Tucker perhaps interferes with the flow during a middle section when he tells the same story from two different perspectives, but it remains a fascinating and revealing insight into the extraordinary and turbulent life of an unrestrained genius whose talent proved as tortuous as it was luminous.

David Lichtneker

Site Contents Copyright© The Z Review, unless used with permission.This site has no intention to infringe on the rights of the film owners of Hilary and Jackie and intellectual copyright holders of the movies mentioned herein & hold copyright over the movie, characters, merchandise & storyline.