Carrington (1995)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Christopher Hampton

Writers:

Christopher Hampton (writer)
Michael Holroyd (book)

Release Date:

10 November 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

She had many lovers but only one love.

Plot:

The story of the relationship between painter Dora Carrington and author Lytton Strachey in a World War One England of cottages and countryside...

Plot Keywords:

Sexual | Countryside | Jealousy | Psychological Drama | WWI

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 5 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Emma Thompson	...	Dora Carrington
Jonathan Pryce	...	Lytton Strachey
Steven Waddington	...	Ralph Partridge
Samuel West	...	Gerald Brenan
Rufus Sewell	...	Mark Gertler
Penelope Wilton	...	Lady Ottoline Morrell
Janet McTeer	...	Vanessa Bell
Peter Blythe	...	Phillip Morrell
Jeremy Northam	...	Beacus Penrose
Alex Kingston	...	Frances Partridge
Sebastian Harcombe	...	Roger Senhouse
Richard Clifford	...	Clive Bell
David Ryall	...	Mayor
Stephen Boxer	...	Military Rep
Annabel Mullion	...	Mary Hutchinson

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality and language.

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

UK | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Singapore:R21 | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | South Korea:18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | Portugal:M/16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:11 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Cliveden House, Taplow, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Orsans Productions

Trivia:

'Christopher Hampton' finally got to direct the script he'd been sitting on since 1976, but only because original helmer Mike Newell opted to direct Donnie Brasco (1997) instead.

Quotes:

Lady Ottoline Morrell: You know as well as I do it's a sickness with Carrington. A girl of that age still a virgin. It's absurd.
Lytton Strachey: I was still a virgin at her age.
Lady Ottoline Morrell: But that's my whole point. Don't you see ? So was I. Is there to be no progress ?

Soundtrack:

When this lousy war is over

Glorious, If Not For All Tastes

I missed this film in the theater since I assumed from its ads it was merely a Merchant/Ivory rip-off. Big mistake! Seeing it on cable was a life-altering experience for me, making me aware for the first time of its brilliant scorer Michael Nyman, who has since become very nearly my favorite composer in all the world.

But there is so much more to be relished here. Telling the true story of one of the most improbable loves imaginable, "Carrington" evokes with impeccable precision the bohemian world of Kensington art society around the time of the First World War. Written and directed by Christopher Hampton, best known for "Dangerous Liaisons", it is literate without being pompous, outrageous yet not repugnant. Unless you're an incredible prude, in which case steer clear! For its picture of the true-life polymorphous sexuality of its characters is full and unapologetic.

For me, one of the film's most remarkable aspect (thanks to Hampton, of course) is its narrative style. In essence, it is told in a series of self-contained vignettes, each a sort of mini-play with a beginning, middle, and end. Perhaps Hampton wanted to create a dramatic equivalent to Carrington's art, all of which is either intimate portraiture or quirky landscapes. Whatever his intention, it gives the movie a wonderfully eccentric pace and feel that beautifully matches its one-of-a-kind characters.

Finally, for those who don't know his work outside film, Nyman lifted the wondrous "Carrington/Lytton" musical theme from his single-movement string quartet, in essence making it a sort of "historical vignette" to mesh with that same quality in the movie.