“Let’s not be vulgar, Hester,” says the honorable judge (Simon Russell Beale) to his wife (Rachel Weisz). “We are talking about marriage.” But when the marriage is loveless, a woman has the right to be vulgar by pursuing a mad passion with an ex-RAF wastrel (Tom Hiddleston) — and to sustain that torch even when her lover abandons her. Terence Rattigan created Hester in his 1952 play; Terence Davies, Liverpool’s unique film poet (Distant Voices, Still Lives; Of Time and the City), revived her in this operatic adaptation. The movie is a museum of emotions brought to contemporary life through the director’s artistry and his leading lady’s fire. Playing a woman whose sexual ferocity could crack the china in any tea set, Weisz imparts intellectual acuity and, at the end, a saintly, forlorn fury.
Arts & Entertainment
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4. Rachel Weisz as Hester Collyer in The Deep Blue Sea
Full List
Top 10 Nonfiction Books
- 10. The Black Count, Tom Reiss
- 9. The First Four Notes: Beethoven’s Fifth and the Human Imagination, Matthew Guerrieri
- 8. People Who Eat Darkness: The True Story of a Young Woman Who Vanished from the Streets of Tokyo — and the Evil That Swallowed Her Up, Richard Lloyd Parry
- 7. Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child, Bob Spitz
- 6. Wild, Cheryl Strayed
- 5. Are You My Mother?, Alison Bechdel
- 4. My Friend Dahmer, Derf Backderf
- 3. Far from the Tree, Andrew Solomon
- 2. The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Vol. Four, Robert A. Caro
- 1. Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1944–1956, Anne Applebaum
Top 10 Fiction Books
- 10. This Is How You Lose Her, Junot Diaz
- 9. Where’d You Go, Bernadette?, Maria Semple
- 8. NW, Zadie Smith
- 7. Building Stories, Chris Ware
- 6. The Casual Vacancy, J.K. Rowling
- 5. The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There, Catherynne Valente
- 4. At Last, Edward St. Aubyn
- 3. Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, Ben Fountain
- 2. Bring Up the Bodies, Hilary Mantel
- 1. The Fault in Our Stars, John Green
Top 10 Movie Performances
- 10. Jennifer Lawrence as Tiffany in Silver Linings Playbook
- 9. Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens in Lincoln
- 8. Vanessa Paradis, Café de Flore
- 7. Denzel Washington as Whip Whitaker in Flight
- 6. Denis Lavant as the Actor in Holy Motors
- 5. Matthew McConaughey as Joe Cooper in Killer Joe
- 4. Rachel Weisz as Hester Collyer in The Deep Blue Sea
- 3. Clarke Peters as Da Good Bishop Enoch Rouse in Red Hook Summer
- 2. Quvenzhané Wallis as Hushpuppy in Beasts of the Southern Wild
- 1. Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva as Georges and Anne in Amour
Top 10 Best Movies
Top 10 Worst Movies
Top 10 Plays and Musicals
Top 10 Songs
- 10. Can, “Graublau”
- 9. The Belle Brigade, “No Time to Think”
- 8. Pussy Riot, “Putin Lights Up the Fires”
- 7. Nicki Minaj, “Roman in Moscow”
- 6. Skrillex, “Bangarang”
- 5. Parquet Courts, “Master of My Craft”
- 4. Taylor Swift, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”
- 3. Carly Rae Jepsen, “Call Me Maybe”
- 2. PSY, “Gangnam Style”
- 1. Usher, “Climax”
Top 10 TV Episodes
- 10. Breaking Bad, “Fifty-One”
- 9. Awake, Pilot
- 8. The Good Wife, “Another Ham Sandwich”
- 7. Mad Men, “At the Codfish Ball”
- 6. Parks and Recreation, “The Comeback Kid”
- 5. Girls, “The Return”
- 4. Homeland, “Q&A”
- 3. Game of Thrones, “Blackwater”
- 2. Community, “Digital Estate Planning”
- 1. Louie, “Daddy’s Girlfriend, Parts 1 and 2”
Top 10 TV Series
Top 10 Viral Videos