The Mill on the Floss

Maggie Tulliver grows up in a small riverside community after her family loses the mill that had belonged to them for generations, a defeat that makes the lawyer Wakem into a bitter local enemy. As Maggie moves from girlhood into adulthood she forms a quiet attachment to Wakem's son Philip, but her brother Tom, clinging to the memory of their father, forbids their meetings and polices the family's honor. When Maggie visits her cousin Lucy Deane, Lucy's fiance Stephen Guest is immediately taken with Maggie, and his attention adds a dangerous layer of temptation and social risk. The film follows Maggie as she copes with love, loyalty, and the strict expectations of her provincial world.

Directed by Graham Theakston and released in 1997, this screen version adapts George Eliot's novel with a screenplay credit to Hugh Stoddart, aiming for period authenticity in costumes and locations.

The movie had a modest theatrical presence and did not produce notable box office numbers, finding most viewers through television broadcasts and home video rather than wide cinema success.

While it never became a major cultural touchstone, the film fits into the 1990s trend of adapting classic English novels, and it gave Emily Watson an opportunity to play a complex romantic lead soon after her breakout roles, attracting attention from fans of literary dramas.

Critical reaction was mixed, reflected in a small sample rating of 6.1 out of 10. Reviewers tended to praise the film's period detail and the restrained performances, while noting the story's heavy reliance on social codes and familial pressure. Key themes include class conflict, the obligations of family, and the constrained choices available to women in a conservative society, with the narrative focusing more on interior feeling and moral consequence than on melodrama.