Lady Chatterley

Aroview: Sensuous, heartrendingly tender French/Belgian adaptation of an alternate version of D.H. Lawrence's once notorious novel 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' aches with wistful yearning and unhinged sexuality, gently unfolding the story of an impossible love affair between a wealthy mine owner's wife and a ruggedly handsome, working-class gamekeeper.

Despite taking liberties with the book's heroine (cast here as a naive temptress), the narrative is underpinned by beautifully naturalistic performances from its two leads - their tactile chemistry captivating to behold. Far from diluting the emancipatory theme of the source material, this French-dialogued film universalises what is an unmistakably English milieu through an acute awareness of the novel's enduring romanticism.

NZ International Film Festival 2007

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