THE LAW OF ENCLOSURES (2000) / *** 1/2
Directed by John Greyson. Screenplay by Greyson, based on the novel by Dale Peck. Starring Sarah Polley, Brendan Fletcher, Diane Ladd. Running time: 111 minutes. Rated AA for mature subject matter by the MFCB. Reviewed on September 14th, 2001.
By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN
Synopsis: Sarnia, Ontario, 1991. Beatrice (Polley) and Henry (Fletcher) are a young couple newly fallen in love. Sarnia, Ontario, 1991. Bea (Ladd) and Hank (Sean McCann) are an older married couple, bitter and cold and full of loathing for each other. As the Gulf War rages in the background, we explore how Beatrice and Henry become Bea and Hank; and we witness the final effort of Bea and Hank to recover their beginnings as Beatrice and Henry.
Review: Initially slow and ponderous, "The Law Of Enclosures" gradually, almost imperceptibly, draws you in. Its structure is unusual, the characters comprising two groups of people living contemporaneously. One set is young and the other older, but apparently, impossibly, they are the same. The youthful group includes Beatrice, Henry, Myrah and Stanley; the elder consists of Bea, Hank, Myra and Stan. There's even a child Beatrice/Bea in a few scenes, also existing simultaneously. The point of this seemingly convoluted and heavily metaphorical set-up is to paint a cinematic palindrome: the dawn of Beatrice and Henry's relationship is mirrored by its twilight. Greyson includes several hints as to the nature of the movie; clocks get stuck, and numbers counted backward are a perennial feature. Also watch for reflected actions, particularly beautiful shots of lovemaking through a glazed window. The backdrop of the War, oil-rich Sarnia posing as a Western Kuwait and the relationship(s) as the arena of destruction, is effective but not overdone. Polley and Fletcher don't quite find the right note as Beatrice and Henry; they go through the motions of being in love, but it never quite feels genuine. Ladd and McCann, though, are spectacular, at first communicating a controlled animosity which beautifully transforms into something more.
Copyright © 2001 Shannon Patrick Sullivan. Archived at The Popcorn Gallery, http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies.html
| Shannon Patrick Sullivan | shannon@mun.ca | +---------------------------------+---------------------------------+ / Doctor Who: A Brief History of Time (Travel) go.to/drwho-history \ \__ We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars __/
========== X-RAMR-ID: 29470 X-Language: en X-RT-SourceID: 886 X-RT-AuthorID: 1699 X-RT-RatingText: 3.5/4
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