HILARY AND JACKIE

Details

• Release Year: 1999
• Genre: Drama; Music
• Plot: Perhaps inspired by the success of biopics like Shine and Amadeus, this film based on a true story -- and a book (entitled A Genius in the Family) -- also focuses on the destructive forces of being a musical genius. Hilary and Jacqueline du Pré are gifted sisters who grow up in England in the 1950s and compete for musical accolades and love. Hilary (Rachel Griffiths) is a talented flutist, but it's her younger sister, Jackie (Breaking the Waves' Emily Watson), who is the musical 'genius' cellist. The film follows their sibling rivalry in musical competition and romance. Though extremely close as children, it is younger sister Jackie who eventually becomes the international star, marrying top pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim. Hilary marries her true love, Kiffer Finzi (David Morrissey), and settles in a beautiful country home with her two children. But who is jealous of whom? Hilary receives an unexpected visit from Jackie, asking her sister for a chance to live a normal life and to sleep with Kiffer. Later, Jackie suffers from multiple sclerosis, and the sisters strive to repair the emotional damage of their long-standing rivalry.
• Cast: Emily Watson; Rachel Griffiths; James Frain; David Morrissey; Charles Dance; Celia Imrie; Rupert Penry-Jones; Bill Paterson; Auriol Evans; Keeley Flanders; Grace Chatto; Nyree Dawn Porter; Maggie McCarthy; Vernon Dobtcheff; Anthony Smee; Delia Lindsay; Linda Spurrier; Nick Haverson; Kika Mirylees; Robert Rietty; Tamsin Pike; David Shimwell; Peter Czajowski; Stella Maris; Carla Mendonça; Pal Banda; Anna Barkan; Steven Atholl; Heather Weeks; Ralph De Souza; Andrea Chaialton; Jon Rumney; Kate Hetherington; Ariana Daykin; Oliver Lee; Hayley James-Gannon; Melissa James-Gannon; George Kennaway; John Gough; Brian Perkins; Michael Fish; Paul Rushworth; Anand Tucker
• Director: Anand Tucker
• Runtime: 2:01
• Company: October Films
• Media Format: movie