A Handful of Dust

The wife's affair and a death in the family hasten the demise of an upper-class English marriage.We see the detritus of an abandoned camp in South America and a main character's hallucination. Then, the story beings. Tony and Brenda Last, lord and lady, live on his enormous estate with their young son. Tony's not much for parties, and Brenda joins London society, on the arm of a penniless man, John Beaver, a hanger-on at Tony's club. John is encouraged by his entrepreneurial mother, who sees a quid in Tony and Brenda. Brenda and John become lovers, Brenda spends more and more time in London, and Tony's without a clue. Then, bringing things to a head are tragedy, law suits, greed, and what should be a few-months' expedition to Brazil. We are each of us merely a handful of dust.

Genres

Drama, Foreign, Romance

Crew

Director

Charles Sturridge

Actors

• James Wilby
  As Tony Last
• Kristin Scott Thomas
  As Brenda Last
• Rupert Graves
  As John Beaver
• Anjelica Huston
  As Mrs. Rattery
• Judi Dench
  As Mrs. Beaver
• Alec Guinness
  As Mr. Todd
• Stephen Fry
  As Reggie
• Richard Beale As Ben
• Jackskon Kyle As John Andrew
• Norman Lumsden As Ambrose
• Jeanne Watts As Nanny
• Kate Percival As Miss Ripon
• Richard Leech As Doctor
• Roger Miller As Vicar
• Tristram Jellinek As Richard Last
• Pip Torrens As Jock
• Beatie Edney As Marjorie
• Graham Crowden As Mr. Graceful
• John Quentin As Brenda's Solicitor
• Timothy Bateson As MacDougal
• Moyra Fraser As Mrs. Northcote