August, 2005 - Nr. 8
World Premiere of Phyllis
Nagy’s Mrs. Harris
– A Gala Presentation –
Toronto - MRS. HARRIS, the directorial debut by playwright Phyllis Nagy, receives its world premiere as a Gala Presentation at the 30th Toronto International Film Festival. A tale of love and obsession, the film explores the sensational story of Jean Harris, who killed her lover, Dr. Herman Tarnower, author of the best-selling The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet. MRS. HARRIS stars Annette Bening and Ben Kingsley, along with Ellen Burstyn, Frances Fisher, Philip Baker Hall, Cloris Leachman, Mary McDonnell, Chloë Sevigny, Bill Smitrovich, and Frank Whaley.
Jean Harris (Annette Bening) was the refined headmistress of a prestigious boarding school and a mother of two. At a cocktail party she meets Dr. Herman Tarnower (Ben Kingsley), a confirmed bachelor, and the two begin a romance. After nearly fifteen years of being unable to break through the distant Tarnower’s emotional defenses and put an end to his blatant infidelities, Jean’s love for the doctor spirals into something much darker.
Be it premeditated murder, as the prosecution claimed, or an accidental killing of Tarnower while trying to commit suicide, as she swore, Jean Harris became an unlikely candidate to stand trial for murder in a case that became the media sensation of its time.
Written and directed by Phyllis Nagy, MRS. HARRIS is executive produced by Elizabeth Karlsen, Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon, and John Wells. Inspired by the book Very Much a Lady by Shana Alexander. A Killer Films/Number 9 Films/John Wells Production, the film is a presentation of HBO Films.
Gala Presentations at Roy Thomson Hall are made possible through the sponsorship of VIACOM, Paramount Pictures Canada Distribution Inc.,
and Showtime Networks Inc.
