Carrington (1995)

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A young female artist falls in love with a known homosexual and the two spend their remaining years in each other's lives. No, this is not a romantic comedy starring Julia Roberts, but "Carrington" is an emotional drama that is a triumph for Emma Thompson, Jonathan Pryce, and one of the most Britishy British casts ever assembled, but less than perfect for writer/director Christopher Hampton.

Taking place between 1914 and 1932 in England, Thompson is Dora Carrington, a troubled artist who falls for homosexual writer Lytton Strachey (Jonathan Pryce). Strachey is a bit of a dramatic, suffering from "old age" and other infirmities, although he would be considered a young man. He is first attracted to Carrington, thinking she is a young man thanks to her pageboy haircut and lack of makeup. The two fall in love the only way they can- unphysically. Virgin Carrington and Strachey share a bed, but have no sexual relationship and pursue physical love with others. Carrington (she insisted on being referred to with her surname) brings home uptight army soldier Ralph (Steven Waddington), a man's man who does not understand all these Bohemian artists and conscientious World War I objectors. He beds Carrington and, the film implies, Strachey. Ralph and Carrington marry, and Ralph brings home friend Gerald (Samuel West) for Strachey to "get to know," but Gerald falls for Carrington instead. Strachey finds his own younger man, Roger (Sebastian Harcombe), but eventually Strachey and Carrington end up back together in their strange living arrangement, and both meet their sad fates.

Thompson and Pryce are so good here it hurts. The main problem I had was with Hampton's choice of subject matter. He based the film on a massive biography of Strachey, titled the film after Carrington, and there is a lack of focus as to who was the film's main subject. Hampton also writes Strachey like he is a poor man's Oscar Wilde, quipping pithy sayings in between heartbreaks. Carrington comes across as flighty and confused, but we do not see how disturbed she was until after Strachey's death, and Hampton could have elaborated on that a little more. More scenes about Carrington and Strachey's work might have helped as well. The two hour movie feels like compressed scenes from a long running soap opera. Why should the viewer care so much about these characters? Hampton the director is wonderful. In one scene, Carrington sits on a stump and, through a giant bank of windows, watches her husband and his live-in mistress, Carrington's own new lover, and Strachey and Roger, all getting ready for bed. Hampton keeps the scene sad without becoming salaciously voyeuristic, as Carrington seems to be silently questioning all these men who have brought her to this place in time. I would recommend "Carrington," but with the reservations about the script. I definitely would recommend it on the performances alone, if nothing else.

Stats:
(1995) 121 min. (* * * 1/2) out of five stars
-Directed by Christopher Hampton
-Written by Christopher Hampton based on the book by Michael Holroyd
-Cast: Emma Thompson, Jonathan Pryce, Steve Waddington, Samuel West, Rufus Sewell, Penelope Wilton, Janet McTeer, Peter Blyth, Jeremy Northam, Alex Kingston
(R)
*BAFTA Award*
-Best British Film (lost to "The Madness of King George")
-Best Actor in a Leading Role- Jonathan Pryce (lost to Nigel Hawthorne- "The Madness of King George")