Retrospective: Local Heroes

The French Lieutenant's Woman

An astounding array of talent came together for the bigscreen adaptation of John Fowles’ novel, The French Lieutenant’s Woman – a postmodern literary masterpiece that was considered by many to be unfilmable.

With an ingenious screenplay penned by the Nobel Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter, British New Wave trailblazer Karel Reisz transforms Fowles’ tale of scandalous romance into an arresting and hugely entertaining film about film. In Pinter and Reisz’ reimagining, Jeremy Irons and Meryl Streep star in parallel narratives: as a Victorian-era gentleman and the social outcast he risks everything to love, and as the contemporary actors playing these roles in a film production while immersed in their own forbidden affair.

Shot by the consummate cinematographer Freddie Francis and scored by venerated composer and conductor Carl Davis, The French Lieutenant’s Woman is a beguiling, intellectually nimble feat of filmmaking, starring a pair of now legendary actors in early leading roles.

Director:
Karel Reisz
Cast:
Jeremy Irons, Meryl Streep, Hilton McRae
1981 | 124 MIN | UK ROMANCE/DRAMA
M
The film’s beauty is dazzling. It stands with…Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon and Roman Polanski's Tess.
THE NEW YORK TIMES
  • WINNER Best Actress & Best Sound, BAFTA Awards 1982
    WINNER Best Cinematography Award, British Society of Cinematographers 1981