Hilary and Jackie (1998)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hilary and Jackie is a historical drama which premiered in 1998. It is based on a true story: the lives and careers of two sisters: Hilary and Jacqueline du Pré.

 

Here is some basic information about this drama:

 

** Directed by Anand Tucker

** Produced by Nicholas Kent and Andy Paterson

** Screenplay written by Frank Cottrell Boyce

** Based on the book A Genius in the Family by Hilary and Piers du Pré (1997)

** Musical score composed by Barrington Pheloung (1954-2019)

** Language: English

** Subtitles: English (turn on-turn off)

** Released on DVD in 2007

** Run time: 114 minutes

 

The cast includes the following:

 

** Rachel Griffiths as Hilary “Hils” du Pré (born 1942) – a flute player

** Emily Watson as Jacqueline “Jackie” du Pré (1945-1987) – a cello player

** Rupert Penry-Jones as Piers du Pré (born 1948) – he is the brother of Hilary and Jackie

** Charles Dance as Derek du Pré (1908-1990) – the father

** Celiam Imrie as Iris du Pré (1914-1985) – the mother

** David Morrissey as Christopher “Kiffer” Finzi (1934-2019) – he married Hilary in 1961

** James Frain as Daniel Barenboim (born 1942) – he married Jackie in 1967

** Bill Paterson as an anonymous cello teacher

** Keylee Jade Flanders as young Hilary

** Auriol Evans as young Jackie

 

Since this drama is based on a true story, the basic facts are part of the public record. They are not a secret. This is why I feel free to mention some of them here.

 

While this drama is based on a true story, it is not a documentary film. 

 

It is a dramatized version of events. It is a mixture of fact and fiction.

 

While some elements are true, others are the product of speculation and artistic license. 

 

In short: not everything happened exactly as shown here, but the basic story is true.

 

The drama is divided into three parts.

 

Part 1 is an introduction where we see Hilary and Jackie as children, who play music in their free time. Hilary plays the flute, while Jackie plays the cello. 

 

This part is short. 

It runs for only 18 minutes.

 

Parts 2 and 3 have the same length.

Each part runs for 48 minutes.

 

In part two, events are seen from the perspective of Hilary.

In part three, events are seen from the perspective of Jackie.

 

This structure means that some events are covered two times: 

 

At first, they are seen first from Hilary’s perspective; later, they are seen from Jackie’s perspective.

 

When the two sisters were children, Hilary was the better musician. She was excellent on the flute, while Jackie was average on the cello.

 

But Jackie decided to practice more and soon she excelled on the cello. She became a famous professional player, who performed all over the world.

 

At the same time, Hilary gave up the flute and moved to a farm in the countryside with her husband Kiffer.

 

Jackie’s official debut took place in 1961. In 1967 she married the famous musician and conductor Daniel Barenboim.

 

In 1971, disaster struck: Jackie was hit by MS. She took some time off in 1972 and returned to the music in 1973, but this was the end of her career and soon it was also the end of her life. She passed away in 1987.

 

What do reviewers say about this drama?

 

Here are some results:

 

73 percent = IMDb

78 percent = Meta

83 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the audience)

88 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the critics)

 

On Amazon UK there are at the moment 348 ratings of this product; including 141 with reviews.

 

The average rating is 4.4 stars, which corresponds to a rating of 88 percent.

 

As you can see, this drama got some good reviews, but it also caused controversy, in particular among people who were close or had been close to Jackie. 

 

They did not like the drama. They did not like the way Jackie was portrayed in the drama.

 

Hilary, on the other hand, defended the drama, saying that it shows the whole story about Jackie and not merely what the public liked and wanted to see.

 

Hilary and her brother Piers have written a book about their sister:

 

A Genius in the Family: 

An Intimate Memoir of Jacqueline du Pré

(1997 Hardcover)

(1998 Paperback)

 

In 1998, when the drama was released, the book was re-issued under the same title as the drama:

 

Hilary and Jackie

 

There has been some discussion about the connection between the book and the drama. Some people say the drama is based on the book, while others insist that this is not the case.

 

They claim the book had not yet been written, when the drama was in preparation. They claim the screenplay (written by Frank Cottrell Boyce) is based on conversations with Hilary and Piers.

 

What does the drama say about this question? During the credit rolls at the end of the drama, an on-screen message says the following:

 

“Based on the book

‘A Genius in the Family’

by Hilary & Piers du Pré.”

 

I think this must be the end of this discussion.

 

What do I think about this drama?

What is my verdict?

I understand the numerous positive reviews.

 

There is much to like here. We get to see how the two sisters develop in two different directions: 

 

Hilary goes for an ordinary life, while Jackie pursues a professional career as a world class musician.

 

Jackie gets the fame, the flowers, and the applause, but she also gets a life without any solid roots, because she is always on the road, travelling from one stage to the next. If you want fame, there is a price to pay.

 

The drama also shows how the MS affected Jackie. Some scenes are not pleasant to watch, but they do not seem unrealistic.

 

Did Jackie really do and say exactly what we see in the drama? 

Perhaps. 

Perhaps not. 

 

I think it was a good solution to tell the story two times and to show it from two different angles.

 

Here is my verdict: this drama is good, but not great. There are some flaws.

 

# 1. The movie-makers do not want to tell us where we are in time or place. I find this most annoying.

 

There should be an on-screen message with the year and the location whenever a new scene begins, but the movie-makers do not do that.

 

Why not? Why won’t they help us understand where we are time and place?

 

The opening scene on the beach is probably set in 1952, when Hilary is 10 and Jackie is 7. 

 

Jackie’s official debut is in 1961. In that year Hilary marries Kiffer. Jackie meets Daniel in 1966 and they get married in 1967.

 

Jackie’s problems with MS begin in 1971. Her career ends in 1973.

 

These and other dates should have been shown with on-screen messages.

 

# 2. There are some factual flaws here and there:

 

** When a Russian newspaper is shown, in order to illustrate Jackie’s concert in Moscow, the Russian headline above the photo of Jackie reads:

 

“About Lenin, about October.”

 

This is hardly from a real Russian newspaper!

 

** After Jackie has finished a concert in Madrid, a person comes up to her and says the following:

 

“Pablo Casals was in the audience tonight and he was very impressed with your performance.”

 

Casals (1876-1973) was a cello master from Catalonia and an ardent enemy of Franco; he refused to perform in Spain and to visit this country as long as the dictator was still alive and in power.

 

Casals was not in the audience when Jackie played in Madrid. But they did meet each other:

 

Jackie played in his master class when she was 15. This class was in Zermatt, Switzerland!

 

Sadly, Casals did not live long enough to see Franco die. He died in 1973, while Franco died in 1975.

 

** After Jackie’s official debut in 1961, an (anonymous) cello teacher congratulates her and tells her that he has a present for her: a special cello, which is a present from an anonymous benefactor. This instrument is the so-called Davidov Stradivarius from 1712.

 

But this cello was not given to her in 1961. It was given to her in 1964. And the benefactor was not anonymous. It was her godmother Ismena Holland (1903-2004).

 

I like this historical drama and I want to give it a good rating, but as you can see, there are some flaws, which cannot be ignored.

 

I have to remove one star because of these flaws. This product deserves a rating of four stars (80 percent).

 

PS  1. Emily Watson does not play the cello in the drama; she merely pretends to play. The cello we hear in the drama is played by Caroline Dale.

 

Rachel Griffiths does not play the flute in the drama; she merely pretends to play. I wonder who plays the flute we hear in the drama.There is no information.

 

PS # 2. Auriol Evans, who plays young Jackie in the movie, is a real cello player. When we see her with the cello in the drama, she is not pretending. She can play the cello.

 

PS # 3. Barrington Pheloung (1954-2019) was an Australian-born composer who lived and worked in the UK.

 

He composed music for several movies and television series, including the theme and the incidental music for the famous television series Inspector Morse.

 

PS # 4. The bonus features on the DVD include a deleted scene (which runs for less than five minutes) and a trailer. This is not very impressive.

 

I was hoping to find interviews with some of the people who were involved in the making of this drama, for instance the director, the writer, and some of the actors. But this is not the case.

 

The lack of decent bonus features on the DVD is one more reason why this product cannot get a rating of five stars (100 percent).

 

*****

 

A Genius in the Family:

An Intimate Memoir of Jacqueline du Pré

by Hilary du Pré & Piers du Pré

 (1997 Hardcover)

(1998 Paperback)

 

*****