Pandaemonium (2000)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Julien Temple

Writer:

Frank Cottrell Boyce (written by)

Release Date:

18 April 2001 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Friendship and betrayal between two poets during the French Revolution. |

Plot Keywords:

Creative Process | Opium | Celebrity | Visionary | Independent Film

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Linus Roache	...	Samuel Coleridge
John Hannah	...	William Wordsworth
Samantha Morton	...	Sara Coleridge
Emily Woof	...	Dorothy Wordsworth
Emma Fielding	...	Mary Wordsworth
Andy Serkis	...	John Thelwall
Samuel West	...	Robert Southey
Michael N. Harbour	...	Walsh (as Michael Harbour)
William Scott-Masson	...	Tom Poole
Clive Merrison	...	Dr. Gillman
Dexter Fletcher	...	Humphry Davy
Guy Lankester	...	Lord Byron
Andrea Lowe	...	Edith Southey
Jacqueline Defferary	...	Miss Holland
Andy de la Tour	...	Andrew Crosse

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for drug content.

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:LH | France:U | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Australia:M | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

Charlestown, Cornwall, England, UK

Company:

Arts Council of England

Goofs:

Anachronisms: As they are rolling around from the effects of "Thornapple", the shot of the clouds rolling by show the quick streak of the exhaust of a jet airplane zipping from bottom to top of the picture.

Quotes:

William Wordsworth: You can feed him with ideas and images but I go hungry.

Beautifully filmed treasure

This beautifully filmed treasure was a special treat to watch, as it transported me into a different world and captured the feelings I had as a student of English literature studying Coleridge and Wordsworth. Through its artistic interpretation of the inner landscape of Coleridge's mind, it reawakened the emotions that Coleridge's poetry itself evoked. I applaud the credit it gave to the women in the lives of these two masters, particularly Dorothy Wordsworth, whose importance to the poetry itself was unrecognized in the original works and has always been underappreciated. The film really brought to life "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," "Kubla Khan," and "Frost at Midnight."

The movie was so powerful because of the beautiful filming--the sets, scenery, costumes, etc., the photographic talents that captured these, the haunting background score, and the talented acting of the cast, particularly that of Linus Roach, who displayed a variety of emotional states so wonderfully, though I was really moved by Emily Woof's acting, as well. At first it seemed to me that John Hannah was merely walking through his role, but I now feel that the subdued acting was deliberate in portraying a much more sinister Wordsworth. I also applaud Samantha Morton and Samuel West for their roles.

The one odd thing about the movie was the segment shown during the final credits, in which Coleridge walks around in modern London, with dreadful popular modern music playing. I understand that a statement was being made, but it contrasted too sharply with the beauty of the film and the reverie in which I found myself. (The music was dreadful because of the contrast with the earlier context.) I really didn't need to be unkindly startled from the earlier sweet emotions. Only credit-watchers like me have to worry about it, though.