Darling
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Movie Reviews of Darling
Movie Review: A life less ordinary...
Summary: 5 Stars
The swinging 60's gets a moral awakening in John Schlesinger's 1965 gem `Darling'. With rich character development and a stunningly provocative demeanor, `Darling' barrels through to the very end with such charisma (of the shockingly endearing kind) that one cannot help but become completely engulfed in its prose.
Julie Christie (in her Oscar winning role) plays young and determined model Diana Scott who falls in and out of one failed relationship after another in her struggle to `make it'. She leaves her young and immature husband for an older gentleman, Robert (who happens to be married himself), but life lessons leave her feeling overwhelmed to the point where she falls into an affair with a suave film director named Miles. When that relationship seems trying she swears off men and holes up with her friend Malcolm (who happens to prefer the company of men himself) where she meets the wealthy Italian Prince Cesare della Romita and contemplates becoming a Princess.
The film reminded me somewhat of Fellini's masterpiece `La Dolce Vita', especially the French party scene, which seemed an obvious influence, but this film is far from a copy cat. It delves into similar themes (such as the demoralization of high society) but it does so with a unique vision all its own.
They are definite companion pieces, and I recommend watching them both as a pair.
What I admire so much about `Darling' is that it is truly a fearless film. While still tame according to today's standards (if you can call them that) it is really intriguing to see all that they present in this film without any hesitation. The performances are truly lived in and completely felt by the audience, and the script is stunningly deep despite never truly going anywhere out of the norm. What I mean by that is that there isn't a whole lot that happens in `Darling' outside of Diana's relationships, but the way in which each relationship is explored and developed takes us to a place deep within Diana herself. The film also beautifully contrasts Diana's outward and inward personas, giving us a woman who is perceived by many to be happy (one of her campaigns is the `happy girl') but who is traumatically unhappy with her lot in life.
This all comes to a head at the films rapturous conclusion when Diana (literally) strips herself of everything and shatters before us. Everything she has worked so hard to secure has proven itself to be the (figurative) death of her.
So, let's talk about the acting (always a favorite subject of mine). There have been many words spoken about Christie winning the Oscar over Julie Andrews (I even read an absurd comment on IMDB by someone who hasn't even SEEN this movie yet claims that the Academy must be blind because there is no way that Christie could possibly be better than Andrews). I'll say this; neither actress should have won that year since the best performance by an actress in a leading role was Anna Karina, who was flawlessly engaging in `Pierrot le Fou'. That said, both Andrews and Christie were wonderful, but I wholly back up Christie's win. She tapped into something so sincere and so raw. The way that Christie balances her characters emotional conflicts is just flawlessly done. That final scene with Bogarde is just mesmerizing painful. Much has been said about Bogarde and Harvey. I don't know what else to say. They were both phenomenal, and Bogarde may even win my personal Best Actor award that year (that stunning sidewalk confrontation with Christie alone is worthy of an award), but I feel compelled to ignore them altogether and focus on someone who doesn't get mentioned too often.
Roland Curram.
Roland plays Malcolm, Diana's flirtatiously dominate friend. He has but a few scenes, but they are ridiculously layered and very memorable. Every facial expression he throws her way allows us to scrutinize her as honestly as a friend without judging her, as he so obviously does not. He threw himself into the role with an effortless charisma that drew me to him.
In the end, I just have to say that `Darling' is a sublime film. It is ultimately a stirring and somewhat depressing look at the emptiness of aspirations, but it is remarkably handled on all fronts, and its blatant honesty and fearless embracing of the culturally taboo make this film an absolute treasure.
Movie Review: Much More Than Carnaby Street Eye Candy
Summary: 5 Stars
When I was a teenager in New York, I happened to flip the channel and came upon this movie, which I observed for no more than ten minutes. It left an indelible impression on me, but not because of the witty dialogue or well-crafted cinematography. It was Julie Christie who drew me in, and many years later on my first viewing of the complete film, it is Christie who continues to beckon me, but not just with her beauty.
Handing an up-and-coming star so much screen time (or shall we call it "face time") as director Schlesinger did in "Darling" can be a risky proposition, but it pays off handsomely here. Christie truly deserved her Oscar for this emotionally wide-ranging, nicely nuanced performance of a narcissistic social climber in the "Swinging Sixties." She's adroitly paired with Dirk Bogarde to create an "owl and pussycat" story line, and Laurence Harvey is brought in as a manipulative, sexually ambiguous poseur who shows "Diana" the darker side of success. (Harvey's selection was somewhat ironic given his own "climb the ladder" character in "Room at the Top.")
"Darling" offers a true-to-life window into the growing glitterati subculture that was starting to flower after the Fifties. Most of the main characters make their living through the creation of images (a model, television personality, photographer, advertising man and revered writer), and Diana learns how to use her assets in this milieu most effectively. For all her conquests, all her connections, and all her globetrotting, the broadest, most genuine smiles come across her face when she is "in the moment" with her gay photographer friend or children - individuals who do not threaten to shatter her glass-like personality. Unfortunately, that apparent happiness is not to be sustained by the time the film ends.
Visually, "Darling" is a delight. The opening sequence, in which a poster on world hunger is papered over with a close-up of model Diana, effectively sets the stage for a steady string of sardonic observations by screenwriter Rafael, especially in the charity dinner and art gallery sequences. The episode in the Parisian salon comes off as a psychologically troubling mixture of Fellini freaks and the beach scene in "Suddenly Last Summer", and the cottage and verandah scene on the Italian Riviera is simply stunning. Director Schlesinger could easily have opted for color, but wisely chose black-and-white as befit the plot line and moral ambiguity of many of his characters.
About the only criticism one might make of this film is the too-obvious post-colonial moralizing about "haves" and "have nots." Other than that, "Darling" is much more than eye candy - a well acted, witty, and sometimes troubling look at a coterie of "haves" who grasp the railing on the merry-go-round hard, many times at personal cost.
Movie Review: Princess Diana
Summary: 5 Stars
"Darling" is a searing look into the shallow life of a London girl during the mid-60's. It stars Julie Christie in the title role of Diana Scott and takes us through a few years of her life from mod-model to wife of an Italian prince. Dianna's messy life and total disregard for others is brilliantly shown through the convention of her telling "My Story" to a magazine while contrasting her tale with the actual facts of her life. Co-stars Dirk Bogarde, Laurence Harvey each serves the story in their unique and gifted ways. Bogarde as Robert Gold is Diana's one brush with real emotion and possible salvation is at the top of his form giving yet another fine performance in support of Miss Christie. Laurence Harvey is cold and calculating as the bored playboy Miles Brand. He has never been better or has his angular face been shown to be more sardonic and deceitful than here in this film.
The direction by John Schlesinger is razor sharp and never misses the truth behind each scene. Cinematographer Kenneth Higgins captures the feel of mid-60's London, Pairs and Italy in crisp and clean shots. His close-ups are nearly surgical in what they render visible to the eye.
John Dankworth executed the composition of one of the most haunting themes from the sixties, which plays over the brilliant opening credits. His score is perfect and underscores Diana's story so well.
Finally there is Julie Christie in her Oscar winning performance. What a revelation this film and Miss Christie were at the time. Movies were changing so rapidly from what they had been all along to a more adult and honest look at life. The cracks began to appear after WW II. They widened in the 1950's but by the time "Darling' came along the movie industry had changed, imploded then exploded into a new and freer form of expression. Riding this wave to triumph in 1965 was the nearly unknown Miss Christie. Her Diana is unapologetic, raw and wonderful. She never holds back in showing us the ugly side of this beautiful vacuous woman and by the last scene she commands the screen with the authority of a truly perfect performance.
Movie Review: A brilliant analysis of emptiness
Summary: 5 Stars
Most of the other reviews printed here I am in agreement with. There is little I need to add except that I saw the film for the first time in the eighties when it came out on tape. I just rewatched it and still find my gut reaction to be the same and then some. Schlesinger's work, the three leads and the marvelous script make for an engrossing, sobering and disturbing treatise on how so many people lack values and seek "happiness" in all of the wrong places -- especially in the wrong people. After the twenty-odd years of first viewing this film, I realized tonight how strong Julie Christie's performance is in this film. There is not one hole in this bravura performance. It's odd to make this statement, especially since she's playing such a shallow role. It's not an easy nor a desirable part to play, but she carries it off as if she herself were the character. Selfishness is at the core of the character as well as immaturity, and she stoops and conquers.
Laurence Harvey has never played the rogue better and Dirk Bogarde is perfect as the jilted lover who indeed possesses a heart, but nevertheless gives in (but not completely) to Ms. Christie's empty needs. He, indeed, sees through her throughout most of the film but cannot help being swayed by her charms.
Emptiness served up brilliantly. And we must respect the talents involved for providing us with a lesson -- as well as thank them (on two levels at least: talent coupled with making us examine what should really be of value to us).
Movie Review: Not What I Assumed it Would Be
Summary: 5 Stars
I've learned that same old lesson again: Never assume. I've always avoided this movie because I thought it was going to be a lot of 60's bands and old music and a lot of girls in mini skirts and straw-like bangs, looking like a documentary on the first wives of the Beatles.
Instead, it was interesting, thoughtful, contemplative - and gorgeously scored.
I particularly liked the way the filmmakers didn't spell out everything. The movie rockets from a very brief scene from the Christie character's childhood, straight to her adulthood. I liked how the filmmakers respected the audience's intelligence and time by alowing it to figure out how a woman like that gets to be a woman like that. It makes for a more interactive theatrical experience.
Bogarde and Harvey bring that same inscrutible sexuality that they brought to other roles. We know they want Christie only by the way she reacts to them, not by the way they behave. Their pursuit of her isn't a chase - it's a stroll.
Christie's portrayal of a scrambling young woman doing the most with what little she has, embodies, I think, many young women - and this is what ultimately makes the movie heartbreaking. I would compare her plight to that of a child who is very tall for his age. People expect him to have the intelligence, vocabulary and maturity of an older child, and feel mystified and betrayed when the child fails to meet their expectations.