WASHINGTON SQUARE

Starring Jennifer Jason Leigh, Albert Finney and Ben Chaplin Directed by Agnieszka Holland Rated PG Running time 115 minutes Jack gives this film a rating of 7 out of 10

(Nov. 28, 1997) -- Move over Jane Austen and Edith Wharton, 'tis the season for Henry James at the multiplex.

Joining James' sharp-edged and artful Wings of the Dove on screen is an evocative new interpretation of Washington Square. Jennifer Jason Leigh and Albert Finney head the cast for director Agnieszka Holland.

Like most Jamesian novels, Washington Square is driven by the conflict between matters of the heart and of the purse. The author must have been strictly taught the value of the dollar -- so much of his art revolves around the need to balance love and money.

Leigh stars as Catherine Sloper, a young woman blessed with neither beauty nor social graces. And just so she won't forget her plight, her cold-hearted father (Finney) reminds her at every opportunity.

The widowed, wealthy Dr. Sloper lives with his daughter in the Washington Square section of Manhattan, circa 1850. Through childhood and adolescence, Catherine has repeatedly tried to please her father, but it is hopeless. Frustrated by her singular lack of charm, Catherine's father cruelly tells her: "How obscene that your mother should give her life so that you can inhabit space on this earth."

Is it any wonder young Catherine lacks self-confidence? So imagine her excitement when a handsome young man named Morris (Ben Chaplin) begins to court her.

Ah, but Dr. Sloper knows better. Morris is a scheming wastrel, angling for Catherine because of the large fortune that accompanies her. Even Catherine seems to understand Morris' agenda, but if money is what it takes for her to have some joy and companionship in life, so what?

As Catherine moves closer to adulthood, she has to try to take charge of her life, despite her father's steadfast objections. Ultimately, Washington Square is a portrait of an emotionally abused woman coming of age.

The unflinching portrayals by Leigh and Finney generate considerable pain and pathos, but there's also redemption in Catherine's quietly courageous acts of independence and self-reliance.

Holland previously demonstrated an eye for period detail and customs with her lovely 1993 version of The Secret Garden. In Washington Square she once again masterfully explores the repressed secrets and heart-tugging relationships of another time and place.

Though Washington Square lacks the modern resonance and sexual tension of the slightly superior Wings of the Dove, it is still an intelligent, well-made adaptation, worth the time for literate filmgoers.