Silence speaks volumes in Tod Williams' achingly subtle adap of John Irving's novel A Widow For One Year. Well, the first third of it, anyway - though given the amount of heartbreak, tragedy and betrayal his drama contains you feel grateful he didn't tackle the whole lot. Jeff Bridges is the philandering children's author whose imploding marriage to Kim Basinger is witnessed at first-hand by Jon Foster's horny intern. The Graduate-style romance that develops between the gawky student and the bereaved mother is touchingly explored, though it's Bridges' endearingly selfish skirt-chaser who steals the show.
DVD Extras:
A well-stocked commentary finds Williams sharing champers with most of his crew, while an Anatomy Of A Scene doc and a 25-minute Making Of leave little uncovered. It's all a bit po-faced, though, so kudos to Irving for cutting through the back-patting with an intelligent analysis of the pitfalls faced by book-to-screen transfers.
