The latest adaptation of Lady Chatterley’s Lover is a non-sexual celebration meant to perpetuate the book’s obscenity case. In fact, if he could do something by sliding the shell a little further. It’s a beautiful but essentially risk-free version of D. H. Lawrence’s 1928 novel about class, industrialization, and passion.
Emma Corrine (Diana, Princess of Wales in Episode 4) Crown) is attractive as the eponymous Lady Chatterley, also known as Connie Reed, an educated bohemian Londoner who marries the aristocrat Sir Clifford Chatterley (Matthew Duckett) shortly before leaving for the First World War.
Returning paralyzed from the waist down and apparently more devoted to her books and (much to her dismay) heartless running of the local mines, Connie seeks physical and spiritual solace in the arms of gamekeeper Oliver Mellors (Jack O’Connell). ).
There is a physical connection that is mutually satisfying, at least in this adaptation (lots of shots of Corrine smiling at the crucial moment), but also through four tenderly rendered sex scenes that are increasingly emotional.
Despite the difference in social status, they both enjoy reading James Joyce together, stripping naked in the street and enjoying the joys of nature, frolicking like children in local lakes and dancing among the tall grass.
Life of Pi Author David Magee’s thoughtful script takes care of the couple’s romance meticulously, giving their romance time to blossom and making it as amazing for them as it is for us. The on-screen chemistry of the couple is also conveniently off the charts.
Meanwhile, Duckett plays Sir Clifford not as an outright villain, but as a man who is no longer a match for his wife.
It’s a nuanced interpretation that feels pleasantly modern. It’s also nice to see Joely Richardson return a little closer to that world as Sir Clifford’s caretaker, Mrs Bolton (when Richardson was in the title role). Lady Chatterley in the 1993 TV adaptation with Sean Bean as Mellors).
However, fans of the book will find something here in a few rambling references to Lawrence’s study of industrialization and its shortcomings. Director Laura de Clermont-Tonnerre imitates Lawrence’s sumptuous prose well when it comes to natural wonders, but is less adept at understanding Connie’s distaste for the treatment of local miners and her/Lawrence’s distaste for the deification of machines in the show in general.
Some key scenes – Connie walking past protesting miners, Sir Clifford upset when Mellors can’t fix his wheelchair – feel strange and alien. It’s not just about scrutinizing Lawrence’s themes. need contrast with machine modernity to understand the brutal physicality of Connie and Mellors.
Clermont-Tonnerre might have benefited from interpreting Lawrence less accurately or in a bolder, more experimental style.
Whatever the case, it’s a beautifully acted and beautifully filmed adaptation that feels a bit boring nonetheless.
In theaters now and on Netflix on December 2nd.