Princess Caraboo (1994)

Phoebe Cates is quite charming here as the enigmatic young woman who appears, very much like a fish out of water, in a Georgian English village. She's clearly not a local, and is heading for jail for begging before a supposed "interpreter" steps in claiming that he can understand her dialect and stating that she is really the eponymous character from a land far, far away.... The local "Worrall" landowners love the idea and embrace her. Not for her sake, of course, but because it adds kudos to their middle-ranking existence with the "county set". Thing is, is she actually a princess or is she just riding the wave - and a wave not necessarily of her own making? Despite the assembling of a strong cast here, the film flows a bit like treacle uphill. It looks great, the costumes and stately homes complemented by a suitably grand Richard Hartley score work well, but somehow the whole thing just lacks spirit. Jim Broadbent tries his best, but John Lithgow and Kevin Kline seem here to be seen in an English period drama rather than because either have anything much to contribute to the unremarkably crafted screenplay. It's an intriguing story - but little of that intrigue comes across here as this disappoints, slowly, more than it dazzles. Pity.