mollyringle | New Lady Chatterley's Lover: thumbs up! (Reply)

I just watched the new Lady Chatterley's Lover on Netflix. I wasn't expecting much, since adapting this book tastefully is always tricky, but I actually loved it. Yes, there's nudity and sex aplenty—that's an integral part of the story's territory—but to me it felt natural, lush, and highly romantic. In fact, I'd guess that the most valid accusation about it is that it's more romantic than the novel, which has a darker and more grim feel. (Find me a book set in coal-mining lands that does NOT have a grim feel.) But I'll take the more romantic interpretation any day, because that's how I swing.

I attribute the lovely and emotionally alive feel of this film to the fact that it had a female director, Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, and the female gaze she brings to it. What do women want? Besides occasional escapes to the secluded forest cottage in the rain to tup the gruff but tenderhearted and book-reading gamekeeper, we want thriving green scenery, atmospheric country houses with cool vintage furnishings, beautiful frocks (to discard on the forest floor as we please), and intelligent conversation in which we are heard and respected for our choices. And that's what this director serves us lavishly in this adaptation.

Fab job to all involved. (Especial kudos to Emma Corrin and Jack O'Connell for the incredible bravery of all that nudity and intimacy.)

One screenshot censored just to keep myself out of internet jail.