Shot in 1999, this movie stayed on the shelf until it premiered in the U.S. on the Starz cable network on August 2, 2003, and then went straight to DVD.
The china used in the tea house when Grace Beasley (Kathy Bates), Nola Fox (Lynn Redgrave), and the other sisters is Royal Albert Old Country Roses. This china is frequently used in movies where tea is being served.
Kathy Bates and Jonathan Pryce were both nominated for 2020 Academy Awards having a reunion of sorts.