Mrs. Dalloway

Mrs. Dalloway, directed by Marleen Gorris, is a British film adapted from Virginia Woolf's novel of the same name, with a screenplay written by actress Eileen Atkins. Vanessa Redgrave stars as Clarissa Dalloway, who reflects on her past choices between passion and stability while preparing for a party she will host that evening; running parallel is the story of war veteran Septimus Warren Smith, whose collapse from World War I trauma ends in suicide, news of which is felt indirectly at Clarissa's party. Vanessa Redgrave's performance was praised almost universally by critics, though the film received mixed reviews for how it translates Woolf's stream of consciousness technique to the screen. Who it's for: anyone curious about a British drama bringing a stream of consciousness novel to the screen, anchored by a widely praised Vanessa Redgrave performance. Who it's not for: those wanting the novel's dense interior monologue translated one to one, since critics noted the film's transitions between past and present feel disjointed.