Impromptu Details

Either you'll relish the opportunity to see Hugh Grant as Chopin and Julian Sands as Liszt, or else you'll reach for the channel changer the moment James Lapine's period romance begins. If you choose the latter option, however, you'll miss Judy Davis's superb performance as notorious female novelist George Sand, who flits from love affair to duel with a wondrous disregard for the conventions of 19th-century society. There's some splendid casting here, not least Ralph Brown of Withnail & I fame as Eugène Delacroix and Emma Thompson as the Duchess d'Antan. It's not exactly history, but it's still hugely enjoyable.

Lively re-telling of a well-known romance, but the modern, slangy dialogue makes it seem like a fancy-dress party, and it runs out of energy halfway through.