Rethinking the Costume Drama: Agnieszka Holland's Washington Square (1997)

This article looks at Agnieszka Holland's film of "Washington Square" (1997) as an example of a costume drama, focusing especially on the ways in which it tries to attract attention though the use of historically accurate locations, sets and costumes. However, it will also suggest that Holland uses "movement images" (e.g. the woman at the window) to reinvent many of the conventions of the genre and thereby demonstrate how Catherine Sloper transcends the patriarchal conventions of her society in her search for an independent existence.