The French Lieutenant's Woman

Director Karel Reisz and screenwriter Harold Pinter were able to find the right cinematic approach for capturing the unique perspective of John Fowles' prose in their 1981 screen adaptation of his 1969 novel The French Lieutenant's Woman. Meryl Streep stars as Sarah, a Victorian society outcast still in love with the French officer who abandoned her, while Jeremy Irons is gentleman Charles Henry Smithson, who becomes obsessed with Sarah. Charles is engaged but nevertheless enters into an affair with Sarah, who has her own ideas of where their relationship is going. The filmmakers frame this Victorian tale within a modern story: the making of that period film, with Streep and Irons playing actors who are not only also having an affair off the set, but also whose lives (he's married and has a family) are a contemporary reflection of the 19th-century romance. It's a daring narrative gambit that mostly succeeds, thanks to sharp writing and nuanced performances, and Reisz brings the parallel stories together fairly seamlessly. Boasting lush and beautiful cinematography by Freddie Francis, the film earned five Academy Award nominations, including one for Streep. Newly digitally restored, this Criterion release features extras including new interviews with cast and crew, an interview with film scholar Ian Christie, a 1981 episode of The South Bank Show on the making of the film, and a booklet. Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)