Loving Miss Hatto

Year: 2012

Actors: Maimie McCoy, Alfred Molina, Rory Kinnear, Francesca Annis

Duration: 90 min

London 1953, budding impresario, William Barrington-Coupe, better known as 'Barrie' (Rory Kinnear), meets and falls in love with shy concert pianist, Joyce Hatto (Maimie McCoy). They marry and Joyce becomes Barrie's first and only client. In order to make ends meet, he keeps up his slightly shady pursuits, and is arrested and imprisoned shortly after their marriage for importing radios from Hong Kong and failing to pay the purchase tax. Meanwhile, Joyce's career seems to be taking off, with concerts in the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London and other prestige venues. She also makes several recordings. However, in the 1970s, she is overwhelmed by stage fright at a public event attended by her carping mother, long-suffering father and two piano students. That ends her career. Fast forward to 2002, Joyce (Francesca Annis) and Barrie (Alfred Molina) are now in late middle-age, and Joyce is teaching piano. She is suffering from cancer and has become embittered and difficult. Barrie remains devoted and decides on one last shot at achieving fame for her - by digitally forging performances from an array of extant recordings by other people. He successfully dripfeeds them onto the internet until a music journalist begins to have suspicions. Joyce dies before her story is exposed but Barrie lives on to face the music.—Anonymous

Genre: Drama