The Handmaid's Tale (1990)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Volker Schlöndorff

Writers (WGA):

Margaret Atwood (novel)
Harold Pinter (screenplay)

Release Date:

9 March 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

A haunting tale of sexuality in a country gone wrong.

Plot:

In a dystopicly polluted rightwing religious tyranny, a young woman is put in sexual slavery on account of her now rare fertility.

Plot Keywords:

Fertility | Slavery | Escape | Future | Scrabble

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Natasha Richardson	...	Kate / Offred
Faye Dunaway	...	Serena Joy
Aidan Quinn	...	Nick
Elizabeth McGovern	...	Moira
Victoria Tennant	...	Aunt Lydia
Robert Duvall	...	Commander
Blanche Baker	...	Ofglen
Traci Lind	...	Janine / Ofwarren
Zoey Wilson	...	Aunt Helena
Kathryn Doby	...	Aunt Elizabeth
Reiner Schöne	...	Luke (as Rainer Schoene)
Lucia Hartpeng	...	Cora
Karma Ibsen Riley	...	Aunt Sara
Lucile McIntyre	...	Rita
Gary Bullock	...	Officer on Bus

Runtime:

109 min | USA:108 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English | German

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Singapore:M18 | UK:15 (new rating) | New Zealand:R16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16 (bw)

Filming Locations:

Blue Ridge Mountains, North Carolina, USA

Company:

Bioskop Film

Trivia:

In the original source novel, the main character is known only by her patronymic, "Offred" (or "of Fred," since she "belongs" to a Commander named Fred); her real name is never revealed, though many readers believe it may be June, based on various subtle hints in the text. However, the filmmakers chose Kate as her pre-Gileadean name, and choose to state it clearly.

Goofs:

Continuity: Time of day as Moira breaks out of the Red Center and passes the guards.

Quotes:

Preacher: We pledge allegiance to the Bible. The Old Testament shall be our sole and only Constitution.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Gossip Girl: The Handmaiden's Tale (#1.6)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Save A Soul In Every Town

Startling visual impact

The handmaids in brilliant red, the wives in electric blue, the children in white--Margaret Atwood's neo-fascist state comes startingly alive in Schloendorff's film. The bright colors are oppressive in their uniformity, whether in the "ceremony"--Robert Duvall's passionless copulation with Natasha Richardson as she lies in the lap of his sterile wife, Faye Dunaway--or in the party to celebrate the birth of a handmaid's child, or the execution of another handmaid for fornication. There are several fine actors--Elizabeth McGovern and Aidan Quinn also play memorable, if brief, roles--but the cinematography steals the show here, giving this anti-Utopia the same oppressive tension as the original 1984 and far surpassing any version of Brave New World. It may be that Atwood's book, which I haven't read, adds layers of depth to the characters and plot, but Schloendorff's visualisation is a real enhancement to the tale. He creates the tension of a police state with only momentary intrusions of brutality or machinery. A strong film that will gain its following with time.