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Movies / On DVD / The French Lieutenant's Woman
The French Lieutenant's Woman

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The French Lieutenant's Woman (1982)

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73 %
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Reviews Counted: 15

Fresh: 11

Rotten:4

Average Rating: 7.1/10

Runtime: 2 hrs 5 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: In this dramatic film, director Karel Reisz and screenwriter Harold Pinter adapt the complex romantic novel by John Fowles, THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT'S WOMAN. Set in 1867, Sarah Woodrough (Meryl... In this dramatic film, director Karel Reisz and screenwriter Harold Pinter adapt the complex romantic novel by John Fowles, THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT'S WOMAN. Set in 1867, Sarah Woodrough (Meryl Streep), a beautiful young woman, is condemned by society and driven into a deep melancholy because of her tragic affair with a French lieutenant. Fowles adds depth and texture to the story by including direct historical asides and scientific lessons by Charles Smithson (Jeremy Irons), a wealthy amateur paleontologist and follower of Charles Darwin. In addition, there is a film within the film in which modern-day (1981) characters Anna (Streep) and Mike (Irons) provide comments on the characters they're portraying, and a little history, but primarily provide a parallel story as they enter an adulterous affair of their own. The contrast between the Victorian and the contemporary affairs, at first jarring, is beautifully staged and photographed. Streep's two performances, as the passionate Sarah, with her beautiful head of pre-Raphaelite hair and as the cool, modern Anna, never converge; the distinctness of the division between the two characters symbolizes the almost unconscious perception that however distant a person feels from his repressed Victorian sexuality, it's still connected to him, as Darwin would say. [More]

Starring: Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons, Leo McKern, Hilton McRae

Starring: Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons, Leo McKern, Hilton McRae

Director: Karel Reisz

Director: Karel Reisz
Screenwriter: Harold Pinter

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Release:

Apr 22, 2008

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The French Lieutenant's Woman

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1 - 17 (sorted by date)
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A shallow, confusing and vexing film.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
07/10/06
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/11/06
Time Out

No review available.

comment Comment
12/18/04
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
11/07/03
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

No review available.

comment Comment
09/18/03
Rebecca Murray
About.com

No review available.

comment Comment
06/26/03
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

No review available.

comment Comment
06/19/03
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Vincent Canby
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
08/11/02
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

No review available.

comment Comment
08/10/02
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

No review available.

comment Comment
07/29/02
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

A gripping psychological study of the war between the sexes that asks the question: Are we happier, wiser, more liberated, than the Victorian characters in the story?

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
01/15/02
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

the film comes off as an academic exercise instead of a living, breathing testament to the ideas it presents.

Full Review Source: Daily-Reviews | comment Comment
11/13/01
Dan Jardine
Daily-Reviews

It may be a true “chick flick,” but as far as those movies go, you could do a hell of a lot worse.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
10/28/01
Scott Weinberg
Apollo Guide

Characters don't talk to each other -- they talk to the camera

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
08/31/01
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews
 
 
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