Where Angels Fear to Tread

Where Angels Fear to Tread is a 1991 British drama film directed by Charles Sturridge and starring Helena Bonham Carter, Judy Davis, Rupert Graves, Giovanni Guidelli, Barbara Jefford, and Helen Mirren. The screenplay by Sturridge, Tim Sullivan, and Derek Granger is based on the 1905 novel of the same name by E. M. Forster. Plot Recently widowed and anxious to escape the clutches of her oppressively meddlesome in-laws, free-spirited Lilia Herriton, née Theobald (Helen Mirren) travels to the hillside Tuscan town of Monteriano with her young friend Caroline Abbott (Helena Bonham Carter), under the guise of being her chaperone, whilst leaving her young daughter in the care of her grandparents. There she falls in love with both the countryside and Gino Carella, a handsome young villager, and she decides to stay. Appalled by her behaviour and concerned about Lilia's future, Mrs. Herriton, Lilia's strait-laced mother-in-law, dispatches her own son Philip (Rupert Graves) to Italy to persuade her to return home, but by the time he arrives Lilia and Gino have wed. He and Caroline return home, unable to forgive themselves for not putting an end to what they see as a clearly unsuitable marriage. Lilia is startled to discover her desire for independence is at odds with Gino's traditional values, and she is shocked when he becomes physical to clarify his position. Their relationship becomes less volatile when Lilia becomes pregnant, but she dies in childbirth, leaving her grieving husband with an infant son to raise with the help of his ageing mother.