The movie builds a persuasive case for the trailblazing Gellhorn, who worked while Hemingway played. She didn't see herself as a footnote in his life, and this enjoyable movie makes sure she isn't.

It may be too much to ask for a TV movie based on historical personages with such tumultuous lives to show some restraint. Then again, "too much" isn't a bad way to sum up the problems of Hemingway & Gellhorn.

Kidman manages quietly to evoke something else of this ferocious, aging journalist -- an underlying and unsettling degree of disappointment and hurt.

Hemingway & Gellhorn, for all its awkwardness as historical drama, is never less than interesting to watch, and sometimes captivating.