Die Geliebte des französischen Leutnants (1981)

Die Geliebte des französischen Leutnants: Directed by Karel Reisz. With Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons, Hilton McRae, Emily Morgan. Anna and Mike portray two characters in a film set in 19th century England who fall in love despite the fact that Mike’s character is engaged.

“Haunting environments, two of the centuryu0026#39;s greatest film actors, one of the half-dozen or so best modern playwrights and Fowlesu0026#39; experiment in parallel narratives. Fowlesu0026#39; work was pale compared to Nabokovu0026#39;s u0026quot;Pale Fire,u0026quot; for instance in building a convoluted, layered narrative, but is comparable in extent. Here, Pinteru0026#39;s obsession with time refines the vision — his u0026quot;Proust Screenplay,u0026quot; also centered on layered time, is much studied and admired.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eEverything clicks here. Gortonu0026#39;s designs are detailed and hypnotizing, especially the use of the Lyme groin and related tunnel-like streets. Francisu0026#39; camera (after u0026quot;Elephant Manu0026quot;) captures a dim grey sky, made sharp in modern sequences. With the director, they have contrived to quote great paintings. In particular, the first shot after the three year search when Irons gets the telegram directly and obviously references a famous Monet painting — in fact the first impressionistic painting, a turning point in the artistu0026#39;s perspective. Davisu0026#39; music — the only thing that spans time — supports. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnd Meryl is lovely, but so different in each role. We really wonder if her modern madness created the modern affair in quest of the perfect chemistry for the Sarah role It makes Sarahu0026#39;s imagination deeper and more self-referential than in the book. One scene is uniquely masterful: the modern actors u0026quot;walku0026quot; through a scene, then they do it again. Streep turns on, u0026quot;steps intou0026quot; the role and becomes Sarah, and a moment later, she pulls the whole scene into the past. This will stick with you, I promise.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe director, Reisz, is supposed to have suggested the concept to Pinter, and then attracted the very best. His tightness of vision is apparent. I wish he were still making films. In a sense he is: he literally u0026quot;wrote the booku0026quot; on modern film editing.”