The Chatterley Affair (2006) (TV)

Director:

James Hawes

Writer:

Andrew Davies (written by)

Release Date:

20 March 2006 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

The trial, under The Obscene Publications Act, of the publishers of D.H. Lawrence's 'Lady Chatterley's...

Plot Keywords:

Male Nudity | Jury Room | Female Nudity | Male Frontal Nudity | Infidelity

Cast

Rafe Spall	...	Keith
Louise Delamere	...	Helena
Mary Healey	...	Vera
Gerard Horan	...	Jocular Juror
David Fairweather	...	Timid Juror
Antony Carrick	...	Older Educated Male Juror
Paul Antony-Barber	...	Superior Juror
Kenneth Hadley	...	Court Official
Donald Sumpter	...	Mr. Gerald Gardiner
Ron Donachie	...	Mr. Allen Lane
Karl Johnson	...	Mr. Justice Byrne
David Annen	...	Clerk of the Court
Kenneth Cranham	...	Older Keith
Claire Bloom	...	Older Helena
Pip Torrens	...	Mr. Mervyn Griffith-Jones

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Company:

BBC Wales

Entertaining Enough

Interesting BBC4 drama, set in the 1960s about the true story of the court case deciding whether or not the infamous book Lady Chatterley's Lover should be banned or not. Th trial itself still is the biggest and most famous obscenity trial in British history, so it's a little surprising it's taken this long for a feature-length drama to be made of it.

I've never actually read the book, and I think to fully appreciate it you really need to have read it, but I did see the Sean Bean and Joely Richardson adaptation a few years back so I knew the general plot. It was reasonably well acted. The scenes in court are apparently the exact words used in the trial, so you can't fault the screenplay there, but outside the courtroom the script could have done with a little bit of work.

Certainly not a masterpiece, but it's entertaining enough and worth watching if you get a chance.