St. Ives (1998)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Harry Hook

Writers:

Allan Cubitt (writer)
Robert Louis Stevenson (short story "St. Ives")

Release Date:

22 October 1998 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

In 1813, Capitaine Jacques St. Ives, a Hussar in the Napoleonic wars, is captured and sent to a Scottish prison camp...

Plot Keywords:

Napoleonic Wars | French | Romp | Gentleman | Officer

Cast

Jean-Marc Barr	...	Captain Jacques de Keroual de Saint-Yves
Miranda Richardson	...	Susan Gilchrist
Richard E. Grant	...	Major Farquhar Chevening
Anna Friel	...	Flora Gilchrist
Michael Gough	...	Comte de Saint-Yves
Cécile Pallas	...	Mathilde
Jason Isaacs	...	Alain de Keroual de Saint-Yves
Vernon Dobtcheff	...	Bonnefoy
Tim Dutton	...	François
Barney Craig	...	Linlithgow
Desmond Barrit	...	Biggerstaff
Patrice Melennec	...	Couperin
Adrian Scarborough	...	Le Bon
Chris McHallem	...	Gautier (as Christopher McHallem)
Enda Oates	...	Duelling Office

Also Known As:

All for Love (UK) (TV title)
St. Ives - Alles aus Liebe (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexuality/nudity and violence.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

France | Germany | Ireland | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

UK:15 | USA:R | Spain:T | Iceland:12

Company:

Compagnie des Phares et Balises

Quotes:

Francois: Beauty is only skin deep.
Jacques St. Ives: That's it. Our friendship is over. I cannot love a man who loves a cliche.

Movie Connections:

Version of The Secret of St. Ives (1949)

Soundtrack:

Quartet No. 15, Minuetto Trio

Terrific Napoleonic Era Romp

What a fun movie St. Ives is. It reminds me of the type of film made during the 40's. Classic story, rounded off by characters and a plot that is neither over dramatic nor overtly complicated. In fact it isn't over anything. Robert Lewis Stevenson's story - here adapted for the screen - reads like Jane Austen for men. We do get a tale that has a romance at its heart, but there is plenty of fun too: battle scenes (sort of), prison escapes, mistaken identities, swordplay, and the funniest line I've heard in years: "Only in Scotland would guests be announced by name at a masked ball." There is much hilarity, hardship, and not a little heartbreak as St. Ives tries to fight and find his way back to a family and life he barely knew.

The cast is absolutely stellar with the too infrequently seen Jean Marc Barr absolutely perfect in the title role. Anna Friel is a refreshing delight as the resourceful Flora and Miranda Richardson nearly walks away with the movie as her wise and worldly, been there and seen-it-all Aunt Susan. Richard Grant provides comic relief of the highest order.

This is not going to be the greatest movie anyone has ever seen, but its charms are undeniable and the entire film fairly bristles with an energy that bursts with life.