Honour

Author: Jamie Madden
Location: Melbourne, Australia

"Honour"

Director: Gillian Armstrong
Producer: Mike Nichols
Writer: Joanna Murray Smith, based on her play
Original Score: Paul Grabowsky
Cinematography: Donald McAlpine
Editor: Simon Whitington
Costumes: Ann Roth
Production Designer: Tony Cronin

Principal Cast:

Judy Davis as Honor
Colin Friels as Gus
Emily Blunt as Claudia
Abbie Cornish as Sophie

Tagline: "They promised to love, honour and obey, until she came along"

Synopsis: Gus and Honor have been happily married for thirty years. She is a successful writer, he is an admired columnist. They have a perfect understanding of each other. Until a pushy young female journalist-on assignment to profile Gus-quite deliberately seeks to undermine that understanding. The fallout is dreadful-but beautifully and convincingly portrayed in all its painful consequences. “Honour” is a story with four characters that have a universal as well as particular significance. Honor (without the u) is dignified and beautiful but has a sense of a life well lived, and of experience that has been rewarded with a fine sense of irony and humor. Gus is a man who is surprised by an ambush of youth and desire, and learns through the writing of his lover, and that of his wife, that wisdom and experience enrich and give value. Claudia is a sexy and beautiful young woman, whose sensuality is a lie beneath a vulnerability and emptiness that even a relationship with Gus cannot fill. Sophie is a hurt child that re-emerges from the angry young adult, still loving and needing the father she thinks has behaved so badly. The contrast between this daughter and the mother who has been rejected only emphasizes Honor's wisdom. “Honour” deals with the temptation of the male libido, opportunism, youth, betrayal, and family breakdown.

What the press would say:

With the release of “Candy” and “Jindabyne” earlier this year in cinemas, “Honour” adds to the list of accomplished films that are bringing back Australian cinema. Gillian Armstrong (“Little Women”, “My Brilliant Career”) teams up again with Judy Davis (current seen in “Marie Antoinette” famous for “Husbands and Wives”, and “A Passage to India”) in this exceptional adaptation of Joanna Murray Smith’s play about Gus (Colin Friels; “Dark City”) and Honor who long marriage ends after Gus has an affair with the indelibly beautiful Emily Blunt (“My Summer of Love”, and “The Devil Wears Prada”.) “Honour” follows the simple journey of four normal people, through the end of a marriage. The amazing performances in this film are first class and Oscar worthy, with Judy Davis and Colin Friels as husband and wife (on and off screen), Emily Blunt as a youthful temptress, and the incredible newcomer Abbie Cornish (“Candy”, 2003’s AFI winning performance in “Somersault”) as Sophie, the hurt daughter. Complete with a Oscar nominated and winning crew; with beautiful costumes by Ann Roth (The Hours, Angels in America), cinematography by Donald McAlpine (Moulin Rouge, Stepmom), and score by Paul Grabowsky (Empire Falls, Innocence.)

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

Best Picture
Best Director
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Actress (Judy Davis)
Best Actor (Colin Friels)
Best Supporting Actress (Emily Blunt, Abbie Cornish)
Best Original Score
Best Costume Design
Best Editing
Best Production/Art Design