Second viewing; first seen on January 6, 1995.
Based on the play by Harold Brighouse, first produced in 1915.
A widower with three daughters is thinking of marrying the two younger ones while keeping the eldest, who is 30, as his perpetual companion and as manager of the shoe shop he owns. But she has other plans.
"A Hobson's choice is a free choice where only one option is offered", explains Wikipedia. I guess here it refers to the eldest daughter's choice of husband. I could be wrong, of course. This is a serious candidate for becoming a cult classic and required viewing among the Gender Studies folks in all the good Universities. You see, it has a character who is a perfectly masculine woman, and another who is a perfectly feminine man. The film consists in these characters' personality shaping: first the woman educates the man to fit his sex, and, after this is accomplished, he can educate her to fit hers. I guess if this story were set in modern days, instead of 1880, they would be both undergoing a quite different process of adequating their bodies to fit their immature minds; probably, too, they would never become a couple. Alas, this was from a time when fathers were very egotistic and tyrannical (as they say in Sardinia, a padre padrone, which is another movie), unlike those of our times who are caring and liberal (sometimes they come in pairs). Wikipedia, speaking about the play, points out similarities to King Lear and Cinderella. The TV Guide review is well written and offers a just appreciation of the film's qualities.
Rating: 84 (up from 50)
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