Cotton Mary is a 1999 film co-directed by Ismail Merchant, best known as the producer half of Merchant Ivory, and the Indian actress and writer Madhur Jaffrey, who also co-starred. It is a sensual film, shot in coastal South India.

Cotton Mary
Directed byIsmail Merchant
Madhur Jaffrey (co-director)
Written byAlexandra Viets
Produced byNayeem Hafizka
Richard Hawley
Paul Bradley (executive)
Gil Donaldson (associate)
Starring
CinematographyPierre Lhomme
Edited byJohn David Allen
Music byRichard Robbins
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • 17 December 1999 (1999-12-17) (UK)
Running time
124 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom
France
LanguageEnglish

Plot

edit

Lily Macintosh (Scacchi), an upper-class British woman living in India, has struggled since the birth of her child and is in need of a nanny. An Indian military nurse known as Cotton Mary (Jaffrey) takes the post; she is an ambitious woman who is eager to be part of British society. She seems kind at first, but her true nature gradually reveals itself as she manipulates everyone around her to get what she wants.

Cast

edit

Reception

edit

On Metacritic the film has a score of 52% based on reviews from 18 critics.[1] On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 36% based on reviews from 33 critics.[2]

Roger Ebert gave the film two out of four stars.[3]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Cotton Mary". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  2. ^ "Cotton Mary (2000)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  3. ^ Roger Ebert (31 March 2020). "Cotton Mary". Retrieved 14 October 2020.
edit