Tom & Viv Movie Review

Notable mainly because two of its stars were nominated for 1994 acting Oscars, Miranda Richardson and Rosemary Harris, Tom & Viv is 1994’s biopic about the life and times of T. S. Eliot (Willem Dafoe) and his wife, Viv (Richardson). Richardson’s performance as the poet’s ill wife who slowly loses her mind thanks to turn-of-the-century drugs is fine: the best of the five nominees for Best Actress in my opinion. Harris plays Viv’s mother, and she has about 12 dull lines. Plotwise, this self-absorbed tale goes nowhere after the first 15 minutes. Interesting is Richardson’s character interpretation, but nothing more.