Where Angels Fear To Tread, a fine novel in its own right, is transferred to the big screen with wit and a painter's eye by the masterful Charles Sturridge. Against a backdrop rich in Edwardian England's own brand of stuffy propriety, we watch cultures and mores clash, with poignant, and occasionally hilarious results. Judy Davis delivers one of my top ten moments on film, a snit of epic self-righteousness, in a memorable scene at the opera. The beauty of the film lies in its fluid and compassionate depiction of the wrongheadedness and confusion which ensue when foreign travelers pack their own narrow values next to the toothpaste, granting themselves permission to brandish them in the face of every long-suffering local along the way. Luckily for us, the film is populated by a believable group of finely drawn characters, played by actors who simply could not be better cast.
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