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

The Cobb is the old harbor wall at Lyme Regis where we see "that scene" as Sarah / Anna stands on the harbor wall as the waves crash around her. It was deemed too dangerous for Meryl to get up onto the Cobb while the waves were crashing. So any distance shots actually have one of the art directors standing in for her. The close ups were done in the safety of the studio.

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Goofs

When Charles visits the garden and his bride to be is firing arrows, as she sees him she loads a new arrow - then there is a cut to a closer shot and she is loading the new arrow again.

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Quotes

Sarah: I am the French Lieutenant's... whore.

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Connections

Referenced in Ban the Sadist Videos! (2005)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

An inspiration to Goths everywhere

If you're researching the beginnings of today's Goth movement, be sure to look at this complex tale of Sarah Woodruff (Meryl Streep), a secretive, pale-skinned outcast in a 19th century English coastal town. Known to the locals as "poor tragedy," she sketches spooky self-portraits, always dresses in black and haunts the sea wall waiting for the return of a Frenchman who seduced and abandoned her. With a single, unforgettable look and such dialogue as "my only happiness is when I sleep; when I wake, the nightmare begins," Sarah bewitches visiting Londoner Charles Smithson (Jeremy Irons, in what turned out to be his big break), a paleontologist and "gentleman of leisure." The tricky screenplay by Harold Pinter contrasts the story of Sarah and Charles with the lives of actors Mike and Anna, who are playing them in a film. Offscreen, Anna is anything but Victorian, indulging in an on-location affair with Mike while her husband is away. The contrasts between the two couples born 100 years apart make for one of the most intriguing films of the early 1980s, and the performances by Irons and Streep are predictably outstanding.