Platonic Passion
Added 5/7/2009
"Carrington" is an excellent period movie starring Jonathan Pryce as Bloomsbury author Lytton Strachey and the luminous Emma Thompson as the painter Dora Carrington. The lifelong friendship of Strachey and Carrington was at once passionate and complicated. Lytton is smitten with Dora at first sight, thinking she's a boy. Soon, the boyish Dora and the effeminate Lytton are kissing passionately, sharing the same bed--yet never consummating it. Dora is as close as Lytton ever gets to heterosexuality, even on his deathbed, he says he wanted to marry her. They were soulmates.
"Carrington" shows Dora's numerous lovers,from the troubled artist Mark (Rufus Sewell), to the manly Rafe (Steven Waddington),who sleeps with both Dora and Lytton, to Gerald, and then the handsome,hunky sailor Beacus (Jeremy Northam). Lytton and Dora have a bond that many straight women and gay men have--they see things in a similar way. There's a deep understanding.
"Carrington" is melancholy, especially with the music of Michael Nyman. The final scenes are wrenching, between Lytton's final illness and death, and Dora's suicide. "Carrington" is an excellent, powerful period piece.
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True love is more intimate than sex
Added 4/6/2009
"Carrington" portrays a love story between artist Dora Carrington and Lytton Strachey. It is more than platonic, yet distinctively one without sexual intercourse. Lytton is openly gay, yet is unable to deny how deeply he loves Carrington. Carrington is in love with Lytton in an almost obsessive capacity, confessing her love to him while he does nothing to dissuade her. In fact, his heart is obviously hers, despite his inability to desire her in a sexual way. While they do share intimate embraces and kiss in the movie, never do they fully consummate their unique relationship. Carrington embarks on numerous sexual affairs, marries one man (a young officer) who she "shares" with Lytton, and lives in torment that the only man she wants can love her in every way BUT a sexual way. As in real life, Carrington and Lytton end up living together. A poignant scene is when a sick and delirious Lytton calls out to Carrington, who's at his bedside. He expresses his love and regret that he never married her, indicating his romantic love for her despite lack of physical desire for her body.
Jonathan Pryce is phenomenal in this movie as Lytton Strachey. Behind the beard and the soft voice, one could hardly recognize him as the same man who played the villain in "What A Girl Wants." Emma Thompson is endearing as a woman so in love with a man she is willing to bear a lot. Both actors are extraordinary in this film and give stand-out performances, leaving the supporting actors far behind them.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Unorthodox Love Story
Added 3/30/2009
This is a very unorthodox love story about an attachment between two people that was as open as it was deep. It raises questions about the nature of love, without answering them.
I like it because Lytton Strachey was a fascinating character, here played superbly by Jonathan Pryce. I like it because Emma Thompson plays Carrington. I like it because it is about Bloomsbury, an extended group of creative deviants who lived in interesting times and places. I like it because it is about love unto death conquering formidable obstacles--if love is what it was. Or was it dependence? You decide.
Anyway, this is a true story about real people. It sticks to the facts and lets you draw your own conclusions. Not recommended for prudes or moralists.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Truly, Madly, Deeply
Added 10/16/2008
If you've ever been in love with someone, who, for whatever reason can't absolutely return your feelings, you will sympathize with Emma Thompson as Carrington. Both delicately and passionately told, the love between Dora and Lytton Strachey is told in sections, titled with the names of other lovers and the houses they all live in. Although the subject matter includes pre-and extra-marital affairs as well as early twentieth-century British homosexuality (much different than American), this film has a sweet innocence to it that is entirely due to both Emma Thompson and Jonathan Pryce.
It's not for every Emma Thompson fan, but it is a wonderful movie about love.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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My aunt made me watch this horrible movie during a visit. It may have caused permanent brain damage. At the movie's midpoint I declared, "I hope everyone dies tragic, pain filled deaths". One of the only good things about this movie is that my wish was granted.
2 out of 5 people found this helpful.
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Platonic Passion
Added 5/7/2009
"Carrington" is an excellent period movie starring Jonathan Pryce as Bloomsbury author Lytton Strachey and the luminous Emma Thompson as the painter Dora Carrington. The lifelong friendship of Strachey and Carrington was at once passionate and complicated. Lytton is smitten with Dora at first sight, thinking she's a boy. Soon, the boyish Dora and the effeminate Lytton are kissing passionately, sharing the same bed--yet never consummating it. Dora is as close as Lytton ever gets to heterosexuality, even on his deathbed, he says he wanted to marry her. They were soulmates.
"Carrington" shows Dora's numerous lovers,from the troubled artist Mark (Rufus Sewell), to the manly Rafe (Steven Waddington),who sleeps with both Dora and Lytton, to Gerald, and then the handsome,hunky sailor Beacus (Jeremy Northam). Lytton and Dora have a bond that many straight women and gay men have--they see things in a similar way. There's a deep understanding.
"Carrington" is melancholy, especially with the music of Michael Nyman. The final scenes are wrenching, between Lytton's final illness and death, and Dora's suicide. "Carrington" is an excellent, powerful period piece.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
True love is more intimate than sex
Added 4/6/2009
"Carrington" portrays a love story between artist Dora Carrington and Lytton Strachey. It is more than platonic, yet distinctively one without sexual intercourse. Lytton is openly gay, yet is unable to deny how deeply he loves Carrington. Carrington is in love with Lytton in an almost obsessive capacity, confessing her love to him while he does nothing to dissuade her. In fact, his heart is obviously hers, despite his inability to desire her in a sexual way. While they do share intimate embraces and kiss in the movie, never do they fully consummate their unique relationship. Carrington embarks on numerous sexual affairs, marries one man (a young officer) who she "shares" with Lytton, and lives in torment that the only man she wants can love her in every way BUT a sexual way. As in real life, Carrington and Lytton end up living together. A poignant scene is when a sick and delirious Lytton calls out to Carrington, who's at his bedside. He expresses his love and regret that he never married her, indicating his romantic love for her despite lack of physical desire for her body.
Jonathan Pryce is phenomenal in this movie as Lytton Strachey. Behind the beard and the soft voice, one could hardly recognize him as the same man who played the villain in "What A Girl Wants." Emma Thompson is endearing as a woman so in love with a man she is willing to bear a lot. Both actors are extraordinary in this film and give stand-out performances, leaving the supporting actors far behind them.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
|
Unorthodox Love Story
Added 3/30/2009
This is a very unorthodox love story about an attachment between two people that was as open as it was deep. It raises questions about the nature of love, without answering them.
I like it because Lytton Strachey was a fascinating character, here played superbly by Jonathan Pryce. I like it because Emma Thompson plays Carrington. I like it because it is about Bloomsbury, an extended group of creative deviants who lived in interesting times and places. I like it because it is about love unto death conquering formidable obstacles--if love is what it was. Or was it dependence? You decide.
Anyway, this is a true story about real people. It sticks to the facts and lets you draw your own conclusions. Not recommended for prudes or moralists.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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