The Secret Rapture is a brilliant screen adaptation of David Hare's 1988 play. Juliet Stevenson gives a mesmerizing performance as Isobel, an idealistic woman who is undone by her father's death. Out of loyalty to him, she takes in her alcoholic stepmother, Katherine (Joanne Whalkey-Kilmer), and makes her a partner in a small graphic design business she runs with her lover Patrick (Neill Pearson). But this sacrificial effort explodes in her face when Patrick turns against her and sides with her competitive sister Marion (Penelope Wilton), a successful businesswoman. The movie, directed by Howard Davies, blazes with emotional fireworks and offers a keenly realized portrait of sibling rivalry, mean-spirited capitalism, and unflinching morality. David Hare remains one of the few men around who writes great parts for women.