The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981)

A film is being made of a story, set in 19th century England, about Charles, a biologist who's engaged to be married, but who falls in love with outcast Sarah, whose melancholy makes her ... See full summary »

Director:

Karel Reisz

Writers:

John Fowles (novel), Harold Pinter (screenplay)

Stars:

Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons, Hilton McRae

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

A film is being made of a story, set in 19th century England, about Charles, a biologist who's engaged to be married, but who falls in love with outcast Sarah, whose melancholy makes her leave him after a short, but passionate affair. Anna and Mike, who play the characters of Sarah and Charles, go, during the shooting of the film, through a relationship that runs parallel to that of their characters.

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Plot Keywords:

melancholy | 19th century | love | behind the scenes | class differences | 

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Taglines:

She was lost from the moment she saw him.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

August 1981 (UK)

Also Known As:

La amante del teniente francés

Filming Locations:

Borough Market, Borough, London, England, UK

Box Office

Gross:

SEK 4,392,234 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Juniper Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Wendy Morgan was offered the role of Mary but accepted a stage play instead.

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Goofs

Charles approaches the shore on a steam powered launch from the north. The next shot is also a shot in motion, suggesting from Charles' viewpoint, of Broad Leys, a white house high up on the shore where Sarah is working. Except the view of Broad Leys is as though from the south.

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Quotes

Dr. Grogan: [quoting Dr. Hartmann's treatise on melancholia] "It was as if her torture had become her delight."

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theatre 3000: The Castle of Fu-Manchu (1992)

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Soundtracks

"Adagio from Sonata in D, K 576"
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (as Mozart)
Played by John Lill

User Reviews

Terrific -- with one major flaw

This film is a joy to watch -- as not many films these days are. The settings are superbly created -- the green, grotto-like woodland where Irons and Streep meet in the Victorian world of the film, the murky streets of Lyme, Exeter, and London, and the interior of the lawyer's office, for example. The Victorian part of the film emerges from the dawning of the concept of abnormal psychology (just before Freud) and is really convincing. Streep shows us that her character cannot move on emotionally until she has worked out her own madness. That constitutes a remarkable and complex performance of insanity and self-awareness inhabiting a single psyche. She earns the gentle movement out of the tunnel and onto the calm lake. The turbulence of the unconscious -- that threatening sea of which Irons has warned her -- has been subdued. Seems to me the flaw lies in the 'modern story' (as some here have pointed out). It may be that the Streep character is trying to find a subtext for her fictional heroine, but it looks like the old ennui, so that, while her lack of concern for the relationship is understandable, his obsession with it is not. Though the garden party at the end almost gets it there. Were we shown her decision there? If so, I missed it. I like the concept of the 'two endings' and their contrast, but the ending in the 20th century was a so what? The one in the 19th century was complex and included much of the pain that the relationship had caused both characters. A little more attention to the contemporary love affair -- to suggest that it was more than just a romp on location -- would have helped that dimension of the film per se and also suggested what the Victorian lovers had earned within their Hardyesque world.