i give it a seven only because the acting be good . and of course by that i mean wilkinson . the other two principal be decent . but the character themselves . what on earth be so bad about the character wilkinson play ( james man ) . i do not see him behave like the martinet emily watson accuse him of be . bill bule and on the other hand and be an insufferable jerk who i be pray would meet an extremely brutal and prolonged demise . who be i kidding . tom wilkinson isn not paul bettany after all . so what on earth do emily watson ( anne ) character see in him . she herself admit he be pretty much a piece of offal in his treatment of her . why would she even want to be in the same town a him and to say nothing of the same room . i notice some other review and one person say she cry at the end and to witness james tragedy . . what tragedy . what and you mean lose an imbecile who find someone like bill bule amuse . give u a break .