This is a tough one. It is beautifully shot, wonderfully acted, and tragic. I can't say I want to ever see it again, but I am glad I saw it once.
This is based on an Evelyn Waugh novel considered one of the best novels of the 20th century. It is about the pointlessness of our lives, and the harm people do to each other. That's not an upper, but the civility of this movie masks the nastiness for quite a while. The characters are British, see, so they are so incredibly polite to each other, even when acting in the basest possible way.
Kristin Scott Thomas plays Brenda, married to Tony. They are Lord and Lady, living on Tony's family estate, which takes all Tony's money and time to maintain. Tony is described as a "stick", and it's true that he prefers country life and church to town and parties. Brenda is bored. When an acquaintance of Tony's from his club, John, shows up at the estate for a weekend visit on the barest pretense of an invitation, he and Brenda start an affair. Tony is oblivious.
Brenda is cold and evil, but always sweet and polite and smiling. She seems sincere, but her actions tell about her real character. Using a terrible death as an excuse, she leaves Tony and plans to marry John. John, though, is just a gold-digger, and he is only interested in a rich divorcee. When Tony has finally had enough, and denies Brenda what she wants, John is gone like a shot.
But then things get worse. Tony runs from his life for a six month break, and manages to find someone (Alec Guinness, or Obi Wan) just as evil as Brenda who literally takes away the one thing Tony has left. And Brenda? Things work out just fine for her. This is a very disturbing view of humanity. And it's probably a true and accurate portrait of life, which is oh so discouraging. If you love a great story (and a period costume drama to boot), pick this one up. If you're in a fragile place, rent Bridesmaids again.
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