The Handmaid's Tale

This 1990 screen adaptation of Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel stars Natasha Richardson as Kate, a wife and mother living in a dystopian future where most women have been rendered infertile under a theocratic dictatorship. Fertile women are held captive, indoctrinated with a twisted religion, and made to bear the children of powerful men while becoming servants to their infertile wives. After Kate is separated from her daughter, she is assigned to a powerful military commander (Robert Duvall) whose wife (Faye Dunaway) is wary of her husband's attraction to young handmaids. Aiden Quinn costars as the groundskeeper and chauffeur, a wily character who seduces Kate and introduces her to the rebellion. The Handmaid's Tale is more metaphorical than realistic, a caricature of a modern Fascist takeover (the fictional country is called Gilead) that also serves up a commentary on the oppression of women by a hypocritical patriarchy. Women are officially considered sacred vessels of life but treated like sexual objects and property, and the men revel in the decadence that they ban. Playwright Harold Pinter wrote the script, while Volker Schlöndorff directs, giving the film an emotionally cool quality and a color scheme drained of bright colors except for the scarlet robes of the handmaids, but this is ultimately more of an intellectual exercise than a dynamic drama. Ironically, the fact that this landmark feminist novel was brought to the screen by men may explain the passionless production. Debuting on Blu-ray to coincide with the acclaimed new TV adaptation aired on Hulu, this is a strong optional purchase, particularly given the increased interest in Atwood's novel since Trump's election. (S. Axmaker)