The screenplay focuses on a young Jewish woman of Sephardic background, who reinvents herself as a gentile governess when she is forced to find work to support her family.

Set in the 1830s, the story centres on Rosina da Silva, the sophisticated eldest daughter of a wealthy Jewish family living in a small enclave of Sephardic London Jews.

When her father is murdered on the street and leaves behind numerous debts, she refuses an arranged marriage to an older suitor, declaring that she will work to support her family, even if she has to take to the stage like her aunt, who is a renowned singer.

She decides to use her classical education and advertise her services as a governess, transforming herself into Mary Blackchurch - a Protestant of partial Italian descent - in order to conceal her heritage.

Patriarch Charles Cavendish is a man of science intent on solving the problem of retaining a photographic image on paper, while his pretentious wife flounders in a sea of ennui.

Mary, well-educated and unusually curious in an era when a woman's primary focus is meant to be keeping house and attending to the needs of her family, surprises Charles with the depth of her interest and ability and becomes his assistant.

While secretly observing Passover in her room, she spills salt water onto one of Charles' prints, accidentally discovering a technique that preserves the image.

Complications ensue when the Cavendishs' son Henry returns home after being expelled from the University of Oxford for smoking opium and being caught with a prostitute, and he becomes obsessed with Mary.

In his review in The New York Times, Stephen Holden called the film "ravishingly handsome" and added, "The Governess is a wonderful showcase for Ms. Driver .

"[6] In Variety, Ken Eisner called the film "beautifully crafted" and said it "gets high marks for originality and style," then added, "Although first-time helmer Sandra Goldbacher, working from her own script, has come up with a fascinating premise, her follow-through is too scattered in concept and monotonous in execution to be truly rewarding .

A little trimming could remove some of the distractions and repetition, but it won't be easy to hide the movie's lack of a solid point or payoff.

"[8] Barbara Shulgasser of the San Francisco Examiner observed, "Sandra Goldbacher, writing and directing her first feature, is a sure-handed filmmaker.

"[9] Ruthe Stein of the San Francisco Chronicle said, "As Rosina's extraordinary fate unfolds in The Governess, the real wonder becomes how British filmmaker Sandra Goldbacher was able to write and direct such an accomplished, touching and original movie her first time out .

[12] Sandra Goldbacher was nominated for the Crystal Globe and won both the Audience Award and Special Prize at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.