Enchanted April

Enchanted April

Directed by	Mike Newell
Produced by	Mark Shivas Simon Relph Ann Scott Matthew Hamilton
Written by	Peter Barnes
Starring	Miranda Richardson Josie Lawrence Polly Walker Joan Plowright Alfred Molina Michael Kitchen Jim Broadbent
Music by	Richard Rodney Bennett
Cinematography	Rex Maidment
Edited by	Dick Allen
Distributed by	Miramax Films
Release dates	5 April 1992 (1992-04-05)
Running time	95 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Box office	$13,200,170

Enchanted April is a 1992 film adaptation of Elizabeth von Arnim's 1922 novel, "The Enchanted April," directed by Mike Newell. The novel was previously adapted as a stage play by Kane Campbell in 1925, and as an RKO Radio film in 1935. A new, Tony Award-nominated stage adaptation of the novel by Matthew Barber debuted on Broadway in 2003.

Plot

Elizabeth von Arnim's novel tells of four dissimilar women in 1920s England who leave their rainy, grey environments to go on holiday in Italy. Mrs Arbuthnot and Mrs Wilkins, who belong to the same ladies' club but have never spoken, become acquainted after reading a newspaper advertisement for a small medieval castle on the shores of the Mediterranean to be let furnished for the month of April. They find some common ground in that both are struggling to make the best of unhappy marriages. Having decided to seek other ladies to help share expenses, they reluctantly take on the waspish, elderly Mrs Fisher and the stunning but aloof Lady Caroline Dester. The four women come together at the castle and find rejuvenation in the tranquil beauty of their surroundings, rediscovering hope and love.

Cast

Josie Lawrence as Lottie Wilkins
Miranda Richardson as Rose Arbuthnot
Polly Walker as Caroline Dester
Joan Plowright as Mrs. Fisher
Alfred Molina as Mellersh Wilkins
Jim Broadbent as Frederick Arbuthnot
Michael Kitchen as George Briggs

Production

The film was shot on location at Castello Brown in Portofino, Italy. This same castle was where the author of the book stayed in the 1920s. The score by Richard Rodney Bennett, featuring winsome flute and oboe themes, effectively evokes the film's mood and accentuates the story's sentimentality and nostalgia.^[1]