CARRINGTON
A film review by Ben Hoffman
Copyright 1995 Ben Hoffman
Around the time of WW1 and until 1932, Carrington, as she liked to be called (Emma Thompson) was in love with Lytton Strachey (Jonathan Pryce). Theirs was not the usual relationship. For one thing he was gay; for another, he was fifteen years her senior. Despite that, she lived with him and loved him for his intelligence and his world famous writings. Living with him did not keep her from having affairs, one-nighters and longer when she so chose. Thus she opted to ignore the Victorian mores of the period and be the Bohemian.
Carrington had shown great promise as an artist when she went to college and she continued her painting while living with Strachey. Each admired the other so much they could not live without being together.
While the book on which the film is based is Michael Holroyd's LYTTON STRACHEY, the writer/director, Christopher Hampton, chose to make Carrington the leading figure in the film. He wanted the film to be about an artist to whom life was more important than art. Thompson is vivacious and looks delightful in her short cropped hair; Pryce, in a beard, is more sedate. In any case, hers is the bigger role and gives her a chance to show her stuff.
This turns into one of those films that sound better on paper than when made into a movie. The period after the war was not a particularly interesting one (to me) nor were the characters. I kept thinking PBS would be a more suitable milieu for the film.
Also in the cast are Steve Waddington as Carrington's husband, and Samuel West. Penelope Wilton has the role of Lady Ottoline Morrell.
2 bytes
4 Bytes = Superb
3 Bytes = Too good to be missed.
2 Bytes = So so.
1 Byte = Save your money.
-- Ben Hoffman
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