Terence Davies, a Liverpudlian who made a name for himself with semi-autobiographical films such as “Distant Voices, Still Lives” and serious-minded literary (“The House of Mirth,” “The Neon Bible”) and stage (“The Deep Blue Sea”) adaptations has died.
He was never a prolific filmmaker, as he also wrote fiction and worked in radio because financing his sort of movies — adult dramas, period pieces, literary-minded films — was never easy. He had 15 credits, including “Benediction,” which came out a couple of years back, and a daring Emily Dickinson bio pic (“A Quiet Passion”) a few years before that.
Not everything he filmed worked on screen, and not many earned much money. But there was a high mindedness to all of it. I never got a chance to see his take on Edith Wharton’s “House of Mirth.” Today would be a good day to track it down.
Movie Nation 