LADY CHATTERLEY
A Summer Of Love, and Stolen Erotic Moments of an Upper-Crust White Woman's
(Forbidden) Burden
The Popcorn Reel Movie Review: "Lady Chatterley"
By Omar P.L. Moore/July 20, 2007
Marina Hands, superb in the title role of Pascale Ferran's triumphant re-working
of D.H. Lawrence's literary classic of eroticism and the crossing of class
lines. (All photos: Kino International)
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There are films that make sex sinful, films that depict sex as
dangerous or uncomfortable and then there are films like Pascale Ferran's "Lady
Chatterley", which gives sex an eroticism that is discreet, beautiful and
exquisitely natural, supplemented by an intelligence that isn't pretentious, and
flavored with a tasteful approach that is refreshingly adult.
One summer in France. The 1930's. A high-society woman. A
husband who cannot walk or perform sexually because of a wartime injury. A
fleeting glimpse of her gamekeeper's topless muscular frame in the outdoor
yard. We see the look in the Lady's eye, an oh-so fleeting but piercing
look. Attraction. And from there Marina Hands subtly plays one of
the plum roles in cinema, using her performance to give augmentation to a
woman's sexuality in action. Hands doesn't play the role of Constance
Chatterley as campy siren or sex vixen (as has been done in the past by such
actors as the legendary Sylvia Kristel); she simply flaunts an open-ended
honesty and cerebral quality that is very sexy.
We know that the poorer, lower-class gamekeeper named Parkin (a great
performance from Jean-Louis Coullo'ch) will catch on to Constance. One
needn't have read D.H. Lawrence's classic erotic work to figure that out.
But unlike other cinematic versions of Lawrence's master tome, it is how these
two people from different sides of the proverbial tracks make that journey to
inevitable sexual liaisons that makes this "Lady" a standout from the rest.
(Ferran's film, it is worth noting, is an adaptation of a lesser known Lawrence
novel on Chatterley. Ms. Ferran and Roger Bohbot adapt the novel for the
big screen.)
Chatterley isn't trying to cuckold her arrogant husband for the sport of it; he
knows that his Lady Constance is having an extramarital affair, and that is
acceptable given his own circumstances. What isn't acceptable -- if he
ever only knew -- is with whom. And as the husband speaks with
venom about that "brute of a fellow" who tends to their every trivial affair,
the Lady's passion and yearning for the same man who appeals to her deeply is
pulsating even more powerfully than any vitriol her husband Clifford (Hippolyte
Girardot) will ever possess. It's as if there is an internal contest
between husband and wife over this lower class man: as in which of their
respective passions
for hate or love is stronger. There is a great scene in the
third and final hour of this epic -- the time passes so quickly it only seems
like two hours -- when both Constance and the "brute" Parkin are called into
action to assist the haughty, dictatorial Clifford. This scene contains a
quick camera shot -- and what fills the frame for that brief moment is as erotic
and beautiful as anything the audience has been treated to for the previous two
hours. Despite its relative swiftness, the length of running time will be
both a challenge and a complaint for some, but the power and moving aspects to
the final hour may not have come if this story had been squeezed into 120
minutes.
Tenderness, sensual and sweet: Marina Hands as Lady Constance Chatterley and
Jean-Louis Coullo'ch as Parkin, singing in the rain.
With "Chatterley" Pascale Ferran arguably belongs to the school
of thought that declares that a open-mouthed kiss is more intimate than sexual
intercourse; that the holding of hands, complete with interlocking fingers is
more arousing than intertwined tongues. Such observations will no doubt
make audiences jaded by the Hollywood depictions of sex all the more
appreciative of Ms. Ferran's work. The cinematography (Julien Hirsch) and
costume design (Marie-Claude Altot) will also catch the viewer's eye.
One of the things that makes "Lady Chatterley" intensely erotic at times beyond
its intelligence, are the sex scenes where the participants are virtually fully
clothed. No romantic or seductive music plays during these moments; no
music at all in fact during any episodes of carnal knowledge. Just heavy
breathing and sex, which look as un-choreographed as ever. The naturalness
of the scenes packs an erotic punch as well. The power to excite and
arouse in "Chatterley" emerges from three distinct strands: imagination,
discretion and an authentic love story and theme of forbidden desire intertwined
with the notion that a woman of rich status is chaste and virginal.
True love is attained, and the Lady sees the gamekeeper for
the person he is within, not for the tasks he performs as a subservient (or a
"slave", as Clifford's colloquialism designates.) Parkin
sees Constance not as a higher-up, but as a paramour and a person with a passion
for his companionship. He provides the Lady with the virility, stability
and uprightness that her richer spouse cannot. The roles in the film are
played so exquisitely well. There is suspense, irony and humor.
Another of the wondrous things about this film is its frank, intelligent
dialogue. Ferran never insults Lawrence's work, nor does she condescend to
the audience by insulting its intelligence. This is a story of adults who
explore their humanness, their need for sexual harmony and consummation to make
them whole as fully-actualized beings, or simply as loving humans, conventions
be damned. And that's a love story, whether the barrier be economics,
race, religion, or same-sex in today's world or in the yesterdays of France.
In the U.S. this July 14 marked the 40th anniversary of the Summer Of Love.
It's fitting that "Lady Chatterley", which opens today in San Francisco and
other U.S. cities (while continuing in New York and Los Angeles) comes along
during this famous birthday.
Post-coital adjustments: Parkin (Jean-Louis Coullo'ch) the gamekeeper for his
lady and her husband Clifford attends to the lady and lover Constance Chatterley
(Marina Hands) in Pascale Ferran's "Lady Chatterley", opening in several
additional U.S. cities today.
"Lady Chatterley" is not rated by the Motion Picture
Association of America. The film contains full frontal nudity (male and
female) and strong sexual content. In French with English subtitles.
The film's duration is two hours and 48 minutes. The film has been playing
in New York and Los Angeles among other U.S. cities, and was screened at the San
Francisco International Film Festival earlier this year. "Lady Chatterley"
opens today in San Francisco, San Diego, Berkeley, San Rafael, Portland, Oregon,
Bryn Mawr, and Seattle. Here are additional
cities in the U.S. where it will open in the coming weeks.
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