老庄园主去世后，可怜的母女四人被长子逐出了庄园。靠着亲戚的帮助，她们在一处小小的农舍安顿下来。势力眼的长嫂未曾想到的是，她的弟弟爱德华（休·格兰特 饰）爱上了三姐妹中的大姐埃莉诺（艾玛·汤普森 饰）。理智的埃莉诺尽管也倾心于爱德华，却顾及两人地位的悬殊而努力克制着自己的感情。
与此同时，妹妹玛丽安娜（凯特·温丝莱特 饰）和英俊的军官威罗比（格雷·怀斯 饰）陷入热恋。情感外露的玛丽安娜热情奔放的释放着自己对威罗比的爱慕，甚至不顾及伤害追求者布兰登（艾伦·瑞克曼 饰）上校的感情。未曾想，威罗比为人不正，根本没有把玛丽安娜的感情真正放在心上。两个姐妹的感情相继陷入了危机。
性格迥异的两姐妹谁能得到真正的爱情，如愿以偿呢？母女四人又该如何走出生活的困境呢？

塞巴斯蒂安（斯蒂文·麦金托什 Steven Mackintosh 饰）和维奥拉（伊莫金·斯塔布斯 Imogen Stubbs 饰）是一对情同手足的孪生兄妹，一场暴风雨中，两人不幸遇难，维奥拉死里逃生，塞巴斯蒂安却就此下落不明。为了找到哥哥，维奥拉不惜女扮男装，成为了奥西诺公爵（托比·斯蒂芬斯 Toby Stephens 饰）的贴身侍从。
奥西诺公爵深爱着名为奥莉薇娅（海伦娜·伯翰·卡特 Helena Bonham Carter 饰）的女子，但奥莉薇娅却因为生活变故而拒绝相见。公爵派出维奥拉前往奥莉薇娅处游说说情，让两人没有想到的是，奥莉薇娅似乎对维奥拉情有独钟。糟糕的是，维奥拉爱上了善良的奥西诺公爵，一段复杂的三人关系，究竟会走向怎样的境地呢？

律师弗兰克（詹姆斯·维尔拜 James Wilby 饰）因为脚踝受伤而来到了一处偏远的小山村里修养，在那里，他邂逅了名为梅根（伊莫金·斯塔布斯 Imogen Stubbs 饰）的美丽女子。弗兰克的风趣和健谈吸引了梅根的注意，可是梅根此时已经有了未婚夫乔（杰罗姆·弗林 Jerome Flynn 饰）。
在一场剪羊毛大会上，弗兰克亦爱上了能歌善舞的梅根，然而两人的这段感情遭到了梅根家人和乔的强烈反对。虽然饱受非议，但这对爱侣还是决定尊重他们内心的选择，两人相约在镇上的火车站碰头，踏上私奔的旅途。然而，当梅根赶往火车站之时，却并没有看到弗兰克的身影，与此同时，弗兰克遇见了大学同学的妹妹，两人度过了甜蜜的三天。

The story of a woman who has lost control and self-confidence and an unfortunate sequence of events that may well derail her altogether.

When troubled war veteran Jerry Burton and his sister Joanna relocate to the quiet little village of Lymstock in order to allow Jerry to recuperate from injuries received in what he claims is a motorcycle accident, they are expecting nothing more than country sleepiness and tedium. Much to their surprise, however, they find themselves embroiled in the middle of scandal and secrets; someone is sending vicious poison-pen letters to the residents. A local dignitary has already taken his own life over the letters, and it's not long before local gossip Mona Symmington also commits suicide after receiving a letter. But when the letter-writer apparently resorts to murder, Jerry finds his curiosity stoked despite himself, and he's not the only one; Miss Jane Marple is also in Lymstock, and she's decided that it's long past time someone got to the bottom of this unpleasant business.

哈姆雷特快要疯了。父亲由于奇怪的病症暴毙，母亲改了嫁。在那么多人之中，她偏偏嫁给了亡夫的弟弟，还在父亲过世短短一个月之后。哈姆雷特总是能在夜间看见父亲的鬼魂，他呼喊着自己被弟弟毒害，并恳求哈姆雷特替他报仇，去杀死他的继父。哈姆雷特为了复仇大计装疯卖傻，却在实施的过程中迷失了现实。世界，对他来说成了污浊的泥淖。对性的渴望和唤醒成了恐怖的深渊。周围的朋友变成了继父的耳目，为了时刻监视他。甚至奥菲利亚，他的爱人，也变成了密谋中的一颗棋子。
哈姆雷特的偏执并非全无依据，一个告密者在幕帘后对他密切监视、窃听，终于，复仇者成了凶恶的捕食者。愚蠢的行为变成了彻底的疯狂，哈姆雷特错杀了波洛涅斯——奥菲利亚的父亲。哈姆雷特的母亲和继父为他掩盖了谋杀的罪行，并有意安排他远离公众的实现。哈姆雷特的大计似乎要化为泡影。他迷失了自我，失去了人生的方向。面对这一切，奥菲利亚再也无法承受，她自杀了。当哈姆雷特的继父决定让哈姆雷特永远不再发声的时候，哈姆雷特也抓住了这手边的机会，给了继父最后的沉痛一击，迫使他臣服。
莎士比亚再现了丹麦皇室堕落的政治网络，让哈姆雷特的人生变成了彻底迷幻的悲剧。谋杀、背叛、篡权和对性的渴望成了这场战争中捍卫皇权的武器。哈姆雷特因为无法采取行动，对抗这场在皇廷中充满冷嘲热讽的游戏规则，他变得沉郁、闭塞、甚至自我伤害。他生性犹疑，在好坏两方面难以抉择，这也成为他复仇之路上难以逾越的障碍。除他之外，再无他人对皇室存疑，他的人生注定是场悲剧。

The years between 1968 and 1977 occur in reverse order; scenes within years 1977 and 1973 move forward.
1977
Scene One: Pub. 1977. Spring.
Emma and Jerry meet for the first time in two years. For 7 years they had an affair and a secret flat, and Jerry says no-one else knew. Now Emma is having an affair with Casey, an author whose agent is Jerry and whose publisher is Robert, Emma’s husband. Emma says she found out last night that Robert has betrayed her with other women for years, and admits she revealed her affair with Jerry.
Scene Two: Jerry's House. Later the same day.
Jerry meets Robert to talk about the affair. Robert reveals that in fact he learned about it 4 years ago. Since then their friendship has continued, albeit without playing squash.
1975
Scene Three: Flat. 1975. Winter.
It is the end of Jerry and Emma’s affair. They rarely meet, and Emma’s hopes that the flat would be a different kind of home are unfulfilled. They agree to give it up.
1974
Scene Four: Robert and Emma's House. Living room. 1974. Autumn.
Jerry visits Robert and Emma at home. He reveals that Casey has left his wife and is living nearby. Jerry and Robert plan to play squash, but Jerry reveals that first he is visiting New York with Casey.
1973
Scene Five: Hotel Room. 1973. Summer.
Robert and Emma are on holiday, intending to visit Torcello tomorrow. Emma is reading a book by Spinks, another author whose agent is Jerry. Robert says he refused to publish it because there is not much more to say about betrayal. Robert has discovered that Emma has received a private letter from Jerry. Emma admits they are having an affair.
Scene Six: Flat. 1973. Summer.
Emma has returned from the holiday with Robert in Venice. She has bought a tablecloth for the flat. Jerry reveals that despite the affair he continues to lunch with Robert.
Scene Seven: Restaurant. 1973. Summer.
Robert gets drunk over lunch with Jerry. He says he hates modern novels, and that he went to Torcello on his own and read Yeats.
1971
Scene Eight: Flat. 1971. Summer.
Emma wants to know whether Jerry’s wife suspects his affair, and announces that while Jerry was in America she became pregnant with Robert’s child.
1968
Scene Nine: Robert and Emma's House. Bedroom. 1968. Winter.
During a party Jerry surprises Emma in her bedroom and declares his love for her. He tells Robert he is his oldest friend as well as his best man.