Writer Harold Pinter (Betrayal) and director Karel Reisz (Isadora) take an experimental spin with John Fowles's magnificent novel set in Victorian England, and come up with something puzzling. Jeremy Irons and Meryl Streep play the forbidden lovers in Fowles's story, but in a parallel story line they also play contemporary actors performing those characters in a movie production and having an affair of their own during off-hours. Got that? Considering that Fowles himself presents alternative endings in his novel, something equally eccentric is called for here. But... little is accomplished by this intertwining of a fictional past and present, and the opportunity to do justice to a great story is lost. On the plus side, Irons and Streep are instantly striking as a natural couple on screen, and their presence makes watching The French Lieutenant's Woman easy enough despite the larger problems. --Tom Keogh [show more]
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Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play. Based on the best-selling novel by John Fowles, 'The French Lieutenant's Woman' is a classic Victorian love story of a scandalous romance between a 'gentleman' and a 'tainted' woman, presenting an ironic look at an age of double standard morality. Set in a quiet fishing village in England the film is beautifully visualised by Czech director, Karel Reinsz and screenplay writer, Harold Pinter. Its rich period detail is complemented by the superb performances of Jeremy irons and Meryl Streep (who was an Oscar nominee for Best Actress in 1981).
This adaptation of John Fowles' novel casts Jeremy Irons and an Oscar-nominated Meryl Streep as Anna and Mike, two actors filming a Victorian drama in a quiet English fishing village. As the production runs its course, the performers' relationship off-set begins to mirror their on-camera romance. Scripted by renowned playwright Harold Pinter.
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