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Movies / On DVD / Lady Chatterley
Lady Chatterley

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Lady Chatterley (2006)

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Reviews Counted:82

Fresh:61

Rotten:21

Average Rating:6.7/10

Consensus: Tasteful, poetic, yet sexually forthright, Lady Chatterley skillfully translates its source novel’s high-art erotica onto the big screen.

Rated: 18

Runtime: 3 hrs 21 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:24-08-2007

Synopsis: French director Pascale Ferran brings D.H. Lawrence's second and lesser-known version of LADY CHATTERLEY'S LOVER to the screen. Approaching three hours in length, the film moves at an achingly slow... French director Pascale Ferran brings D.H. Lawrence's second and lesser-known version of LADY CHATTERLEY'S LOVER to the screen. Approaching three hours in length, the film moves at an achingly slow pace as it explores its protagonist's emotional transformation. Set in England in the 1920s, the film begins with our heroine, played by Marina Hands, saying goodbye to her husband, Clifford, who is heading off to war. Left behind on their grand country estate, Constance gets the first taste of the loneliness and isolation she will later become accustomed to when he returns home paralyzed. Suddenly reduced to the role of nurse, the young woman cares for her invalid husband and listlessly putters about the large property, desperately dreaming of escape. She finds this outlet in Parkin (Jean-Louis Coulloc'h), the deceptively brutish gamekeeper down the hill. Skeptical of Constance at first, Parkin begrudgingly produces an extra set of keys to his shed when asked, opening the door to an affair that will awaken something deeply repressed in both parties. Clifford inadvertently encourages his wife by dismissing her boredom and unhappiness as unimportant. When the unspoken tension between Parkin and Constance eventually explodes into a fiery sexual encounter, the two embark on a journey of sexual awakening and personal discovery. LADY CHATTERLEY is beautifully filmed, providing an extremely detailed account of the heroine's visual surroundings. Scenery functions symbolically to show how Constance blooms in the aura of Parkin's love. But as passionate and subversive as their affair is, the reality of their social positions is always present, with visual clues creating a sense of constant threat to the relationship. When Constance goes off on a carefree, extravagant vacation with her fashionable sister and others from her own class, homemade-style footage of her trip contrasts with the controlled way in which her home life is captured, and demonstrates just how far she is from that world. The film's ending is rather open-ended, suggesting several possible outcomes by calling into question how much the early-20th-century social structure will matter in the end. [More]

Starring: Marina Hands, Jean-Louise Coulloc'h, Hippolyte Girodot, Helene Alexandridis

Starring: Marina Hands, Jean-Louise Coulloc'h, Hippolyte Girodot, Helene Alexandridis, Michel Vincent

Director: Pascale Ferran

Director: Pascale Ferran
Screenwriter: Pascale Ferran, Roger Bohbot
Producer: Kristina Larsen, Gilles Sandoz
Studio: Kino International

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Lady Chatterley

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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This is an attractive, involving film with an excellent performance from Hands as the sensible woman standing between two men incapable of transcending conventional notions of power and male domination.

Full Review Source: Observer [UK] | comment Comment
09/01/07
Philip French
Philip French
Observer [UK]

Based on DH Lawrence's second version of this story (he wrote three), this film takes a much more intimate, sensual and natural approach to the familiar story.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
08/24/07
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

A sensitive and entirely believable love story, as far from most of the other filmed versions as it is possible to be.

Full Review Source: This is London | comment Comment
08/24/07
Derek Malcolm
Derek Malcolm
This is London

About as arousing as Ann Widdecombe in a thong.

Full Review Source: thelondonpaper | comment Comment
08/24/07
Neil Smith
Neil Smith
thelondonpaper

Not the soft-core romp one might expect but a drama of thoughtful, touching poignancy.

Full Review Source: Independent | comment Comment
08/24/07
Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn
Independent

Set aside any lingering preconceptions you might have about Lawrence, and prepare to be entranced.

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph | comment Comment
08/24/07
Tim Robey
Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The best French film of recent memory.

Full Review Source: Financial Times | comment Comment
08/24/07
Nigel Andrews
Nigel Andrews
Financial Times

This isn't so much Beauty and the Beast as Beauty and the Dull Bloke.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
08/24/07
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A pity that the director did not devote more of the two hours and 48 minutes to satisfying cinemagoers minds, rather than constantly showing Parkin satisfying Lady Chatterley.

Full Review Source: Sun Online | comment Comment
08/24/07
Sun Online

There comes a point in the highly lauded and award-winning French language Lady Chatterley that you want to scream: “Just shag him already! It’s only sex!”.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
08/24/07
Kevin Maher
Kevin Maher
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Probably more one for arthouse fans, Lady Chatterley lingers in the mind not because of all that nudity – and there’s a lot – but because it’s so beautifully made.

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
08/24/07
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

Unhurried in its pacing, Ferran's film is gentle in its nature, allowing the narrative to unfold as gradually as the feelings between Constance Chatterley and her lover. An intimate expression of love and sexuality, it's a triumphant piece of work.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
08/24/07
James Mottram
James Mottram
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Lays on the rudeness with gusto earning its 18 certificate, while teasing out the story's themes of nature, sex and class conflict with elegant intelligence.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
08/24/07
Jamie Russell
Jamie Russell
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Feran favours intellectual showboating over subtlety, slathering this poorly paced and cripplingly long film in primitive symbolism, meaningful gazes and pensive longueurs.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
08/24/07
David Jenkins
David Jenkins
Total Film

Has nothing relevant to say to a modern audience.

Full Review Source: Little White Lies | comment Comment
08/24/07
Matt Bochenski
Matt Bochenski
Little White Lies

Pascale Ferran as the first female director to adapt this notorious novel absorbs her successful vision with a uniquely romantic vibe.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
08/24/07
David Parkinson
David Parkinson
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Engaging, strikingly photographed and packing a powerful emotional punch, Lady Chatterley is an award winning drama with terrific performances from its three leads.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
08/23/07
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Peg Aloi
Peg Aloi
Boston Phoenix
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: NPR.org | comment Comment
10/18/08
Bob Mondello
Bob Mondello
NPR.org
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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all

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