THE HEART OF ME, which premiered at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival ®, is a magical period piece akin to such classic Merchant Ivory productions as A ROOM WITH A VIEW and THE WINGS OF THE DOVE.

Set amid the immaculate drawing rooms of well-heeled London in the thirties, where crystal and silver gleam in the hands of tuxedoed men and elegant women in evening gowns, THE HEART OF ME takes the classic love triangle and gives it a twist. Based on the novel “The Echoing Grove”, written by Rosamond Lehrmann reportedly based on her affair with British poet laureate Cecil Day Lewis (father of famous actor Daniel). The sharply observed details of the British upper middle class scarcely veil simmering passions that lie discreetly below the surface of ordered lives.

This chamber piece, acted with refinement by a distinguished cast –– Olivia Williams (RUSHMORE), Academy Award nominee Helena Bonham Carter (MARGARET’S MUSEUM) and Paul Bettany (A BEAUTIFUL MIND) –– is treated with the elegance its subject demands by director Thaddeus O’Sullivan (NOTHING PERSONAL).

In 1934, two attractive sisters fall in love with the same man: the debonair Rickie (Bettany), who has a career in the city and knows what is expected of one who has been well-groomed in the proper English fashion. Rickie marries the serenely confident and level-headed Madeleine (Williams), leaving the high-strung Dinah (Bonham Carter) to watch while her sister carries away the spoils. However, Rickie and Dinah prove to have an undeniable connection that soon leads them into a full-blown affair of epic proportions. The history of their liaison –– and the rupture it causes in the relationship between the sisters –– is at the heart of this film.

THE HEART OF ME remains focused upon these two very different fascinating women, played out over a decade or so of their lives, studying the ebb and flow of their emotions as events conspire to overwhelm them. With a veiled desperation, the wronged wife Madeleine and her mother do everything they can to restore the former, safer status quo.

THE HEART OF ME is a rich emotional drama about the seductive – and destructive – nature of passion.

"O’Sullivan directs with a great deal of style and elicits fine performances from his cast." – Mark Adams, Hollywood Reporter.

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