Virginia Woolf purists were alarmed at the liberties Marleen Gorris and her colleagues took with Woolf's novel, but in fact, Mrs. Dalloway boldly succeeds in fleshing out much of the back story to Mrs. D's youth. Gorris' previous film, the Oscar-winning Antonia's Line, offered a similar set-up, with a dying woman recalling the events of her life, but here the present and the past are co-mingled more artfully. Vanessa Redgrave is, no surprise, a smashing Clarissa in middle age, but the film owes much of its power to the performance of Natascha McElhone as the young Clarissa. It's rare that a film offers such a full picture of one character (and in an economical running time as well). The viewer is allowed to see the choices Clarissa had, why she made them, and why she has cause to regret them. And with Redgrave's measured performance, the viewer understands how important it is for her to reconcile herself to her decisions.