A PROMISE (M)
Directed by Patrice Leconte
Friedrich Zeitz (Richard Madden) has made an instant impression. Not only on new boss Herr Karl Hoffmeister (Alan Rickman) but also his wife – Frau Lotte Hoffmeister (Rebecca Hall).
Zeitz’s forward thinking and attention to detail quickly earns the engineering graduate a promotion and when Herr Hoffmeister is struck down by a “quite serious health condition” there’s only one man he trusts to keep an eye on his affairs.
However, the more time Zeitz spends around the Hoffmeister household the more he becomes entranced by Lotte and the further convinced he is that she shares his affections.
So when Herr Hoffmeister insists Zeitz moves in so he can better serve his private secretary duties, it just seems to be inviting trouble.
Based on Viennese writer Stefan Zweig’s (whose writing’s inspired Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel) 1976 novella Journey into the Past, A Promise is a lavish looking period drama filled with gorgeous costumes and an impressive leading trio of actors.
