I can understand not loving this movie, but the scathing reviews are questionable. And I'm not normally one to recommend the taste of teenagers, but I want to tell you that my high school English classes, so film-weary that they are quite hard to please, liked this film and, with a bit of help with the dialogue, especially between the older adults, tuned in very quickly to the idea of the father's protectionism, not truly for his daughter's benefit, but for his own pride. (I agree with one or two other reviewers who pointed out the distastefulness of the the young Catherine's pitiful reaction to stage fright and a scene with veiled, literally, copulation in the background, not to mention that the young Catherine's character being portrayed as fat and, thus, unlikeable was unnecessary and not believable, given that the adult Catherine was so slim. But these are minor problems.) I also wasn't happy with the scene in which Catherine reacts so melodramatically to Townsend's departure, as there was surely never a Jamesian heroine who behaved so, but as a story about familial and romantic love and all its difficulties, it is definitely worth watching, especially if you are looking for a film for different age levels.
Review of Washington Square
