Lady Chatterley’s Lover review: Lavish period drama with a pulsing beat

In the romantic drama film ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’, an unhappily married aristocrat begins a passionate romance with the gamekeeper on her husband’s remote estate. The movie is now streaming on Netflix.

Story

Before leaving to serve in the Great War, Baronet Clifford Chatterley marries Constance Reid. Constance’s upbringing was humble and a little bohemian, thus taking on the title ‘Lady Chatterley’ is a significant change.

Clifford is completely dependent on others after he returns from the war crippled from the waist down.

Constance relocates to the vast Chatterley estate, away from her sister Hilda and from London, in order to care for Clifford. Constance tries her best and loves him.

However, she is a young woman with an impotent spouse who is not interested in finding novel ways to enjoy intimacy.

However, he recommends she take a partner because he wants an heir—obviously not for sexual fulfilment but rather to conceive. Constance is in shock to hear that plan from Clifford and longed to be loved and touched.

The gamekeeper of the Wragby estate, Oliver Mellors, then appears to Constance. They connect with one another after a mere dozen words are exchanged.

The majority of Clifford’s time is spent discussing with his business partners the demonstrations breaking out in the local mines. Clifford is unaware that his wife is having an affair with a lower-class man.

Constance’s romance with Oliver becomes well-known in the hamlet at the same time as she tells Hilda she is pregnant.

Constance receives a letter from Oliver when she is in Venice after several months. They eventually end up together when she sets out to meet him.

Performances

Lady Chatterley’s Lover, a much more complex project, is handled with assurance and vitality by actor-turned-director Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre.

This updated adaptation of Lady Chatterley’s Lover by DH Lawrence is carried by the dedication and enthusiasm of its two leading actors, Emma Corrin and Jack O’Connell.

Corrin and O’Connell are both excellent when it comes to the plot.  The spectator is able to be drawn into their believable, passionate love story because of their strong on-screen chemistry.

Corrin and O’Connell progressively opening up to one another is wonderful, and their bond grows below their feet at every turn. The performers must be so transparent and approachable in this.

Positives

D.H. Lawrence’s novel is faithfully adapted into the film version of Lady Chatterley’s Lover. The screenplay does a good job of accurately portraying the essential details of the original work.

The sex in Lady Chatterley’s Lover is not stereotypical. It is erotic because it is particular to Constance and Oliver’s love. The tale is amplified by both hypocrisy and eroticism.

Oliver is more aware of the disparity in class than Constance is. He addresses her as ‘milady’ with a tone of great respect and struggles to stop doing so even after they have had sexual contact.

Although there is a resemblance to Lawrence’s worries about the negative impacts of the Industrial Revolution, the adaptation by Clermont-Tonnerre favours Lawrence’s romanticism above his radicalism.

Nothing is formal or sluggish and there are no majestic shots. The camera follows Constance as she skips around the verdant fields with a lot of handheld camera work and lens flares. The viewers get the impression that they are chasing after the lead characters as they move forward on their adventures.

Negatives

When it comes to how the movie depicts the aspirations and desires of its eponymous character, it is the exact opposite of what was relevant during those times.

The portrayal of sex in Lady Chatterley’s Lover from the perspective of the title character is implausible.

Audiences will like the steamy sequences in Lady Chatterley’s Lover, but the way they are framed and presented is paradoxical, given that the movie is intended to be about female sexual desire and pleasure, yet Constance appears to prefer a highly male-centric and plain unrealistic picture of sex.

It’s unfortunate that O’Connell’s character is largely absent from the adaptation because the audience learns so little about him. The premise is slightly undermined by Oliver’s characterization, which is more of a literary device than a three-dimensional character. 

To further relate the theme of classes, Lady Chatterley’s Lover needed to be expanded.

Verdict

The film demonstrates how, in the face of overwhelming obstacles, love always prevails. The movie has enough emotion, passion and talent to distinguish itself from previous historical romances.

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Also Read: Lady Chatterley’s Lover ending explained: Does Constance leave Clifford for Oliver?