Ken Russell films are not to everyone's taste. They are often smothered in visual metaphors that distract from what is actually happening on screen.
This, one of his earliest projects, is reasonably straightforward visually and has some very striking moments, such as a cut from the bodies of a drowned young couple to those of another young couple exhausted after sex.
The trouble is we have to listen to the chattering classes of the 1920's discussing the true nature of love and relationships - over and over and over again. You feel like telling them just to shut up and get on with life instead of analysing it to death.
Good acting all round but for me the most memorable performance comes from Oliver Reed who brings a real sense of turmoil to Gerald Crich. The first time I saw the film and the action moved to Switzerland I somehow *knew* Gerald was doomed. It is a performance that really stays with the viewer long after the Lawrence philosophising is forgotten.
This, one of his earliest projects, is reasonably straightforward visually and has some very striking moments, such as a cut from the bodies of a drowned young couple to those of another young couple exhausted after sex.
The trouble is we have to listen to the chattering classes of the 1920's discussing the true nature of love and relationships - over and over and over again. You feel like telling them just to shut up and get on with life instead of analysing it to death.
Good acting all round but for me the most memorable performance comes from Oliver Reed who brings a real sense of turmoil to Gerald Crich. The first time I saw the film and the action moved to Switzerland I somehow *knew* Gerald was doomed. It is a performance that really stays with the viewer long after the Lawrence philosophising is forgotten.