Review of Governess, The

Introduction

Minnie Driver stars in “The Governess” as a Jewish girl who’s father dies leaving her family potentially destitute. Rather than be married off to someone she doesn’t love, she changes her identity and manages to get a job as a Governess for a wealthy family on the Isle of Skye.

Whilst teaching the family’s daughter, she becomes involved in the work of her employer, eventually falling for him and they have an affair.

Video

“The Governess” is presented in non-anamorphic widescreen, with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The picture quality is best described as “good to average”, with the image reasonably detailed, but overly dark in places. In addition, I noticed some slight pixelation at times.

The film is set in 1840 and certainly looks the part, with costumes and locations giving the production a genuine feel.

Audio

The soundtrack is Dolby Digital Stereo (2.0) and whilst not particularly exciting is more than adequate for this type of film.

Throughout the film, the dialogue is always clear and understandable.

Features

The only extra on offer is the trailer.

Conclusion

The Governess is a competently produced period love story, which is well acted, but ultimately rather uninteresting. The relatively slow pace of the film isn’t helped by periods of tedium and despite Minnie Driver and Tom Wilkinson doing their best, the film doesn’t do much to justify it’s 109 minute running time.

Average picture and sound along with no extras make this one for true fans of the genre only.