Angels and Insects
| Angels & Insects | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Philip Haas |
| Screenplay by | Philip Haas Belinda Haas |
| Based on |
Morpho Eugenia by A. S. Byatt |
| Starring |
Mark Rylance Patsy Kensit Kristin Scott Thomas |
| Music by | Alexander Balanescu |
| Cinematography | Bernard Zitzerman |
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Production
company |
Playhouse International Pictures
Samuel Goldwyn Company |
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Release date
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Running time
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116 minutes |
| Country | United States United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $3.4 million |
Angels & Insects is a 1995 romance drama film directed by Philip Haas. It was written by Philip and Belinda Haas with A. S. Byatt after her novella Morpho Eugenia (included in her book Angels and Insects).
William Adamson (Mark Rylance), a brilliant naturalist, has recently returned to Victorian England, staying with the family of his wealthy benefactor, Sir Harold Alabaster (Jeremy Kemp). He is penniless after losing all of his possessions in a shipwreck returning from a years-long expedition to the Amazon. Now dependent upon the hospitality of his patron, William is employed to catalog Sir Harold's specimen collection and teach his younger children the natural sciences, assisting their governess, the unassuming Matty Crompton (Kristin Scott Thomas).
William quickly becomes enamored with Sir Harold's eldest daughter, Eugenia (Patsy Kensit), who is still mourning the recent death of her fiance. Despite his impoverished circumstances, Eugenia proves receptive to his advances and accepts his proposal of marriage. Although Sir Harold grants his approval, Eugenia's snobbish brother Edgar (Douglas Henshall) takes an intense dislike to William because of his humble origins.
Soon after the marriage, Eugenia informs William that she is pregnant. She insists on naming the boy 'Edgar' after her brother, frustrating William. Eugenia's behavior alternates between coldness towards William, locking him out of her room at night, and moments of intense sexual passion. Over time the couple has four more children, although William never warms to them. He instead spends much of his time with the Alabaster children and Matty, observing the activity of an ant colony in the forest. He forms a strong bond with Matty Crompton, who encourages his scientific activities and displays a strong intelligence of her own. They collaborate on a book about the colony, which is successfully published in London.
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Wikipedia