The House of Mirth

This is one of the saddest stories ever told about the traps that society sets for women.

A talented cast, with Gillian Anderson never faltering as the lead, gives flesh-and-blood reality to the characters' moral and social dilemmas.

With consummate grace and exceptional style, Terence Davies transformed Edith Wharton's caustic tragedy of manners into a somber, languid dream.

Even more astonishing: Gillian Anderson, sprung from her ''X Files'' armor of dark suits and even darker broody stares, gives a career igniting performance as proud, kind, foolish, tragic Lily Bart...