The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Karel Reisz

Writers:

John Fowles (novel)
Harold Pinter (screenplay)

Release Date:

August 1981 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

She was lost from the moment she saw him.

Plot:

A film is being made of a story, set in 19th century England, about Charles, a biologist who's engaged to be married...

Plot Keywords:

Love | 19th Century | Melancholy | Tragedy | Film In Film

Awards:

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 12 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Tue. July 7

2:45 AM

TCM

Cast

Meryl Streep	...	Sarah / Anna
Jeremy Irons	...	Charles Henry Smithson / Mike
Hilton McRae	...	Sam
Emily Morgan	...	Mary
Charlotte Mitchell	...	Mrs. Tranter
Lynsey Baxter	...	Ernestina
Jean Faulds	...	Cook
Peter Vaughan	...	Mr. Freeman
Colin Jeavons	...	Vicar
Liz Smith	...	Mrs. Fairley
Patience Collier	...	Mrs. Poulteney
John Barrett	...	Dairyman
Leo McKern	...	Dr. Grogan
Arabella Weir	...	Girl on undercliff
Ben Forster	...	Boy on undercliff

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Singapore:M18 | Australia:M | Argentina:16 | Finland:S | Norway:16 | Sweden:11 | UK:12 (video re-rating) (2001) | UK:15 (video rating) (1986) | UK:AA (original rating) | USA:R (certificate #26244) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Borough Market, Borough, London, England, UK

Company:

Juniper Films

Trivia:

An attempt to adapt the novel was made in the 1970's, to star Vanessa Redgrave, but a satisfactory script couldn't be written, and funding was a problem.

Goofs:

Continuity: Early in the film, as Charles is going on to the jetty to warn Sarah, his cape changes in how it is buttoned from shot to shot.

Quotes:

Sarah: I have set myself beyond the pale. I am nothing. I am hardly human any more.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Inland Empire (2006)

Cunning, parallel lives-romance

An operatic romance, kept sharp and constrained by a parallel plot involving the actors as actors. This is no intermediary narration but a second, alternative tale of romance which takes its lead from the marvellous novel by John Fowles who splits his ending off into a fate-forked coda.

It's possible to watch the period drama in a mental bubble with its corset-busting tumescence, wave-crashing symbolism and fine acting from the deeply committed principals. However, Karel Reisz really makes the modern tracking story work in tandem with the period yarn, turning a misty romance into a mysterious metaphysical matinée. 6/10