Modine is Christopher Newman, a rich American tycoon who has taken a break from America’s Gilded Age. He soon finds that his multiple fortunes in soaps, land and railroads count for little among the musty Europeans. For reasons hard to fathom, Newman develops an instant attraction for a young Parisian widow, Claire de Cintre (Aisling O’Sullivan). Perhaps it is her very unattainable status that draws him into her dark family circle. There he meets Claire’s awful mother (Diana Rigg) and her rude, effete and ultimately charming younger brother, Valentin (Andrew Scott). Newman soon learns that this exclusive clan has roots going back to ancient kings, and while they haven’t a franc to their name, can only hobnob with other snobs and in-bred types swinging from similarly rooted family trees. Newman, the New Man from the New World, who has conquered prairies with his Iron Horse, will have none of this. His pursuit will have tragic and enlightening results for all concerned. {read}
The American by Henry James