‘Feast of July’ By Hal Hinson Washington Post Staff Writer October 21, 1995

Director: Christopher Menaul Cast: Embeth Davidtz; Tom Bell; James Purefoy; Kenneth Anderson; Ben Chaplin; Gemma Jones adult situations Compare prices for this movie Find local video stores More movie shopping Save money with NextCard Visa

Adapted from the H.E. Bates novel by Christopher Neame, the film centers on Bella (Embeth Davidtz), a young working-class woman who, at the beginning of this late 19th-century story, trudges across 30 miles of mountainous terrain in search of the scoundrel who made her pregnant, then deserted her.

When Bella arrives at her destination, however, she is barely alive. Luckily, she is taken in by the Wainwrights, a kindly family of religious-minded souls who offer her a place to stay as long as she pulls her weight. Though Ben Wainwright (Tom Bell) and his three sons—Jedd (James Purefoy), Matty (Kenneth Anderson) and Con (Ben Chaplin)—don't understand the nature of Bella's troubles at the start, Mrs. Wainwright (Gemma Jones) immediately grasps the meaning of her symptoms.

Initially, Bella is a welcome addition to the household. However, as time goes by, each of the sons begins to develop a crush on their houseguest. The first is Matty, a cobbler, who makes her a pair of shoes for her birthday; then Jedd, at home on leave from the military, makes a pass. Finally, Con, who has been shyly lurking in the shadows, makes his feelings known, and somewhat to Bella's surprise, she finds herself responding to this curious boy's almost childlike openness and sensitivity.

It's not hard to see why. Con is the sort of vulnerable innocent who sneaks off during private moments to commune with the pigeons. At first he simply appears inexperienced and clumsy—a bumbling boy unnerved by the prospect of revealing himself to the woman he loves. But as the movie progresses, it becomes apparent that there's something stunted and unformed about Con. One day, when the family is in the fields baling hay, Jedd asks Bella for a kiss, and Con, who witnesses the proposition, goes ballistic and takes after his brother with a razor-sharp scythe.

Following this violent display, Bella begins to see the inadvertent effect her presence is having on the Wainwright boys and tries to break away. Both Davidtz and Menaul have to maintain a delicate balance in their presentation of the movie's heroine. If Bella were perceived as consciously flirtatious, the audience might turn on the character for callously disrupting the lives of these good people. But Davidtz, who was so haunting in "Schindler's List," does a marvelous job of drawing us inside Bella's emotions.

When Bella becomes aware of the feelings she arouses in the brothers, she tries to run away, but Con follows her and brings her back. The result, ultimately, is tragic, and because Menaul has maintained such a tight focus on the conflicting emotions of his characters, its impact is powerful.

Feast of July is rated R for adult situations.

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