SPOILER ALERT *details from WikipediaOrlando is a 1992 film based on Virginia Woolf's novel Orlando: A Biography, starring Tilda Swinton as Orlando, Billy Zane as Marmaduke Bonthrop Shelmerdine, and Quentin Crisp as Queen Elizabeth. It was directed by Sally Potter.
The film begins in the Elizabethan Age shortly before the death of Queen Elizabeth I. On her deathbed, Elizabeth promises an androgynous young nobleman named Orlando a large piece of land and a castle built on it, along with a generous monetary gift which she will only bequeath to him if he consents to her command, "Do not fade. Do not wither. Do not grow old." By following this command, he will keep the land and inheritance forever.
It is Queen Elizabeth who bestows the long life upon Orlando.
Orlando resides in isolation in the castle for a couple of centuries or so during which time he writes poetry and fancies art. His attempts to befriend a celebrated poet, however backfire when the poet writes a devastating take down of his poetry. Subsequently, Orlando travels to Constantinople as British ambassador to the Turks, but is almost killed in a diplomatic brawl.
Waking up the next morning, he learns something even more startling: he has physically transformed into a woman overnight.
The now 'Lady' Orlando comes home to her estate in England, only to learn that she faces several impending lawsuits arguing that Orlando was a woman to begin with and therefore has no right to the land or any of her/his royal inheritance.
The succeeding two centuries tire her out between her court case, having had bad luck in love, and the wars of British history eventually bring her up to the 1990's with a young daughter on a motorcycle and a book in search of a publisher. The editor who judges the work as "quite good" is, ironically, portrayed by Heathcoate Williams - the same actor who denigrated her poetry as a different character 200 years earlier. Having lived a most bizarre existence, Orlando finally finds peace within the world she lives in.
**Overall, the movie was good. the acting was suburb and the storyline was extremely different & eccentric. I recommend it as a Must See. Thank you to my Facebook follower, Anthony Anton Richmond, for recommending this film**
**************This concludes about the movie but I will blog within the next day or so about how this movie correlates further with Elizabeth I, even after her death in the film **************
No comments:
Post a Comment