The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 69, No. 9, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 8, 1981 Page: 7 of 12
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Thresher /Fine Arts
From Fowles's novelist's novel to movie-in-a-movie
The French Lieutenant's Woman
by John Fowles
Screenplay by Harold Pinter
Directed by Karel Reisz
The French Lieutenant's
Woman is not for escapists. John
Fowles's book is a very self-
conscious, self-referential novel.
So Harold Pinter had to create a
self-conscious, self-referential
film. So he creates a movie-within-
a-movie that constantly reminds us
that we are watching a movie.
It's a strange intellectual
experience, not because it's a new
form—it's been done on the stage
for years—but because we're not
used to seeing it on the screen. It is
also a strange emotional
experience, because while we want
to get caught up in the story, we
can't, for fear the film will make
fun of our willingness to lose
ourselves. Remember, it keeps
saying, this is only a movie.
It's a dual-level plot that really
operates on three levels. First,
there is the Victorian romance of
Fowles's novel set in a beautiful
English coastal village, complete
with its own primeval forest. Then
there is a modern romance of
actors who are making a movie
about the Victorian romance. All
the while, we are conscious that
we're watching real-life actors
playing actors in a movie about the
Victorian romance. Got that?
So, in essence, there's two sappy
■
and spoiled Victorian gentle-
woman. But soon, in the best of
many striking scenes in the film, he
mBmm
-4
Meryl Streep as Sarah, tragic figufe
love stories for the price of one.
Jeremy Irons and Meryl Streep
play the two actors (Mike and
Anna) who have an affair while
they are shooting a movie in which
the characters they play (Charles
and Sarah) fall into an illicit
romance.
Charles is an upstanding
Victorian gentleman who, as the
movie-in-the-movie opens,
becomes engaged to an upstanding
Art
of The French Lieutenant's Woman
meets the mysterious Sarah, as she
stands at the edge of a battered
seawall looking to the sea. He tries
to warn her of the danger of the
high winds and breaking waves,
but she only gives him a heart-
wrenching look that may go down
into film history. Charles learns
from his fiancee that Sarah is an
outcast of the community, who
was jilted by a French lieutenant
and who continues to pine for him
on the seawall. Charles, of course,
is fascinated and eventually falls in
love.
Meanwhile, Anna and Mike
keep popping up, commenting on
the scenes in the movie-in-the-
movie while their relationship also
grows. Unfortunately, he's
married and she's attached—to a
Frenchman. Getting the parallels
there?
Actually, we can only assume
their relationship grows, because
that part of the story is on the
screen so little. The only thing we
really know—through the wonders
of parallel editing—is that we're
supposed to assume their
relationship keeps growing like
Charles and Sarah's. But that only
works, if we're willing to keep
playing the movie's game. Now
*isn't this fun?
At any rate, director Karel Reisz
is able to play a couple of tricks
with his double characters. For
example, he deftly cuts directly
from a scene in which Mike and
Anna are rehearsing a scene in the
movie to the actual scene in the
movie, without missing a count. In
another instance, after a scene with
Charles, Reisz cuts to a shot of
Irons laying in bed with an alarm
ringing, but only when Irons
reaches for the telephone do we
realize we're back in the 20th
century.
The whole self-consciousness of
the film is neat. It captures
something of the spirit of the
novel. It allows Streep to show off
lots of her acting skills by giving
her two parts instead of one. (The
same is not quite true of Irons since
his two characters are quite alike.)
And it even allows Pinter to
present an ambiguous ending—
like the novel—because he now has
two plots to end.
But this is not the type of film
that lets you lose yourself on a
Friday evening. Unless you
completely ignore an entire
plotline, it's very difficult to
become engrossed in the romance.
But, then again, you could do that
in a thousand other movies, so why
bother?
— Richard Dees
MFA illuminates the fascination of miniatures
See our fine selection
of Swedish clogs.
BLVD
HOUSTON, TEXAS 77005
522-1389
Northern Italian Illuminated
Manuscripts
Museum of Fine Arts
Through January 3rd, 1982
The showing of Northern Italian
Illuminated Manuscripts drew its
share of oohs and ahhs at the
opening last Wednesday night.
The brilliant book ornamentations
are outstandingly beautiful: an
example of how the functional and
the artistic can blend together.
Technically known as medieval
miniatures, these illuminated
manuscripts date from 1300 to
1500, the peak years of the
production of illuminated
manuscripts, especially those of
Northern Italy. From ancient
Our slightly naughty
Margarita's a real sweet-tart
It's easy to get mixed up with
'cause the liquor's already in it
Prepared by Federal Distillers Products, Inc., Cambridge, Ma
25 proof
times, the practice of illustrating
texts by means of pictorial
representation was in vogue. From
these brilliant initial letters and
borders of illuminations as book
ornamentation, the illustrations
expanded to become one of the
most remarkable art forms of the
Middle Ages.
The Northern Italian manu-
scripts gained importance in the
14th century because the Italians
were the most prolific artists. In
the 15th century, their manuscripts
became even more famous, as the
flat treatment of miniatures gave
way to the laws of perspective and
figure-drawing that govern more
modern paintings. Unfortunately,
the manuscripts died out in the
16th century because of the
invention of the printing press.
On display until January 3,
1982, in the Museum of Fine Arts
Tucysc no g
bto cu tu| tni|xmiin
A medieval miniature
the manuscripts shown are from
the Pierpont Morgan Library in
New York City. The beauty of the
*
Jl-
at
JL
m
(£) 1979 ROLF INSTITUTE
Rolfing-
Is a method in which the connective
tissue is manipulated to change the
body to evoke greater ease, balance
& efficiency. Rolfing is now avail-
able to Rice Students through Tirn^
Greenstreet, Certified Rolfer
464-5739
manuscripts makes viewing them a
pleasure: the decorative borders,
intricate designs, and richness of
color intrigued me. Amazing,
minute details caused me to look
and look and look—just to make
sure that 1 wasn't missing
anything. Particularly fascinating
are the illuminated manuscripts
which have been made into
transparencies and placed in
lighted boxes. Another highlight
of the show is The Book of Hours,
illustrated with exquisite
intricacies.
So if you're interested in
Northern Italian Manuscripts
and even if you're not—the
exhibition is definitely worth
seeing. Perhaps the greatest
fascination the works hold is the
realisation of the immense amount
of work and energy which was
poured into each of the
manuscripts. The artists made
these illuminations labors of love,
and knowing this makes makes the
artistry even more lovely.
— Gwen Elisabeth Richard
OuterOfflce \
TYPING
729-2538
4 pm to 9 pm
Guys or Gals
Weekly salary plus
bonus. For more
information call Mr.
Stoner. 664-8161
after 2 pm.
The Rice Thresher, October 8, 1981, page 7
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Davies, Bruce. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 69, No. 9, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 8, 1981, newspaper, October 8, 1981; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245481/m1/7/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.