Lady Chatterley (2006)

A French adaptation of the second (and much less well-known) version of D.H. Lawrence's erotic tale.

Director:

Pascale Ferran

Writers:

Roger Bohbot, Pascale Ferran,

Stars:

Marina Hands, Jean-Louis Coulloc'h, Hippolyte Girardot

11 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marina Hands	...	Constance
Jean-Louis Coulloc'h	...	Parkin
Hippolyte Girardot	...	Sir Clifford Chatterley
Hélène Alexandridis	...	Mrs. Bolton
Hélène Fillières	...	Hilda
Bernard Verley	...	Sir Malcolm
Sava Lolov	...	Tommy Dukes
Jean-Baptiste Montagut	...	Harry Winterslow
Fanny Deleuze	...	Tante Eva
Michel Vincent	...	Marshall
Colette Philippe	...	Mrs. Marshall
Christelle Hes	...	Kate
Jade Bouchard	...	La jeune bonne
Joël Vandael	...	Field, le chauffeur
Jacques De Bock	...	Le médecin (as Jacques de Bock)

Storyline

Sir Clifford has returned from the Great War to his estate near Sheffield, paralyzed from the waist down. Lady Constance, his young wife, cares for him, but she's lifeless, enervated. Her physician prescribes the open air, and she finds a quiet retreat at the hut - the workplace - of Parkin, the estate's gamekeeper. The rhythms of nature awaken Connie - daffodils, pheasant chicks - and soon she and Parkin become lovers. She's now radiant. Parkin, too, opens up. Class distinctions and gender roles may be barriers to the affair becoming more. Connie's trip to France, with her father and sister, bring the lovers to a nuanced resolution.

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Plot Keywords:

estate | affair | class distinction | paralyzed from the waist down | gamekeeper | 

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Taglines:

Based on one of the most scandalous novels of our time

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality and graphic nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [es]

Country:

Belgium France

Language:

French

Release Date:

1 November 2006 (France)

Also Known As:

Kochanek Lady Chatterley

Filming Locations:

Château de Montmery, Ambazac, Haute-Vienne, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£48,776 (UK) (24 August 2007)

Gross:

$687,414 (USA) (30 November 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Maïa Films, Saga Film (I), arte France Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

168 min 220 min (2 parts) (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Pascale Ferran scheduled six weeks of intensive rehearsal to help put the actors at ease with each other in preparation for the explicit scenes.

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Goofs

On the cabin porch, while drinking water, the two different glasses are switched from one character to the other between takes.

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Connections

Version of Lady Chatterley's Lover (1955)

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Soundtracks

"Valse triste, Op.44"
Composed by Jean Sibelius

User Reviews

The force of nature

First we may talk about the general atmosphere of this remarkable movie. All sceneries are very beautiful, accurate and full of meaning: the landscapes, the interiors and the characters' clothes like we would expect in a reproduction of events which take place in mid-twenties of last century. In what concerns the plot and story we must keep always in mind that at the time most Victorian moral values still prevail and we must see the movie against this background so what wouldn't be revolutionary nowadays was revolutionary indeed at the time. This is the well told, well acted and well directed story of a woman awakening for the physical side of love life. She is the aristocratic rich wife of a no less aristocratic and rich man who is nevertheless an invalid ridden to a wheelchair for life and sexually impotent of course. This awakening begins when she sees for the first time her husband's gamekeeper naked above his waist and washing himself. She is then overwhelmed by a great psychological trouble and the ensuing uncontrollable need of meeting him again leads her to go to see him once more and finishing by surrender herself to make love with him. The first two love scenes were so quick that she doesn't get to any climax and only during the third scene where she takes a more active part does she reach a full orgasm. It's curious however (but quite in accordance with social patterns of that time) that during the first love scenes between the two the relation master-servant maintains itself before and after sex and only later does it gain a more personal and intimate nature. After the third love scene she even thanks him for it like if it had been a service rendered by him which offends him a lot. This adaptation of the second version of the literary masterpiece novel by the British writer D. H. Lawrence is a great success indeed. This novel was banned as pornographic when it was published first time and only in the sixties of last century a court declared it not pornographic according to he real difference between pornography and eroticism which exists though many people still don't know it but it's out of the scope of this review to explain. Sex is a force of nature and indeed a part of human relations and the literary or artistic works based on it can be object of aesthetic (in the broad sense) evaluation notwithstanding any possible moral evaluations which are not within the scope of a literary or a film essay.