Oscar and Lucinda

You could call Oscar and Lucinda an unqualified success to this extent: it's a love story with two genuinely fascinating protagonists that you want to see end up together. The story finds two compulsive gamblers making a fated, fateful connection in Victorian-era Australia: reclusive and penniless divinity student Oscar Hopkins (Ralph Finnes) and high-spirited heiress Lucinda Leplastrier (Cate Blanchett). Individually, the two lead performances are thoroughly impressive, and when they come together, the chemistry is utterly intoxicating (scenes in which they meet to share furtive games of cards take on the feel of illicit sexual encounters). What a pity then that the narrative divides Oscar and Lucinda almost as soon as they are united, sending Oscar on a fool's errand to prove his devotion. His increasingly feverish quest does provide opportunities for some spectacular cinematography; it's just terribly frustrating knowing that these two characters are hanging around in the same movie (but not the same scenes). An interest in the fate of their relationship may keep you watching (and fidgeting) but Oscar and Lucinda is, ultimately, a beautifully filmed and splendidly acted tease. Recommended, with reservations. (S. Renshaw)[DVD Review--January 25, 2005--Fox, 132 min., R, $9.98--Making its debut on DVD, 1997's Oscar and Lucinda is presented in a beautiful anamorphic widescreen transfer and a fine Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack (with a Spanish-dubbed option in Dolby surround sound), but with no extras. Bottom line: a huge step up from the pan-and-scan VHS version, at a bargain price to boot, this is definitely recommended.]