Portrait of a Marriage
by Stephen Whittaker
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Cathryn Harrison, David Haig, Diana Fairfax, Janet McTeer, Peter BirchDirector: Stephen Whittaker
Cinematographer: David Feig
Editor: Dick Allen
Producer: Anna Kalnars
Producer: Colin Tucker
Writer: Nigel Nicolson
Writer: Penelope Mortimer
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 219 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-05-30
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Acorn Media
Movie Reviews of Portrait of a Marriage
Movie Review: Platonic Passion
Summary: 5 Stars
"Portrait of a Marriage" is the superb, controversial Masterpiece Theater miniseries from 1990. Nearly two decades old, it was shocking at the time, before the show became the redundant "Masterpiece Classic" and more historically than emotionally authentic. "Portrait" has endured. In the '90s, the Bloomsbury group inspired numerous movies, from this series to Sally Potter's "Orlando" and Emma Thompson in "Carrington."
"Portrait of a Marriage" is a biopic of feminist author Vita Sackville-West and her diplomat husband, Harold Nicolson. They married, and had a deep emotional bond, despite the fact Harold had flings with handsome young men, and Vita carried on with women--such as Virginia Woolf. The series is quite affecting in showing their affectionate, passionate devotion. Janet McTeer and David Haig are an excellent, credible couple. Their marriage is endangered by Vita's longtime friend, Violet Keppel (Cathryn Harrison). Vita is torn between her husband's devotion and Violet's flighty passion. Harold provides constancy,despite the fact he has a handsome unseen lover named Edward in Paris. Vita and Violet are impassioned&obsessed. One can argue that it was the infidelity and the obsession that was the problem, not the homosexuality.
"Portrait of a Marriage" is a superb period piece. It depicts a time when homosexuality was more stigmatized, and gender roles were more rigid. It's a powerful, passionate portrait.
Summary of Portrait of a Marriage
From the BBC, Janet McTeer stars as Vita Sackville-West in the classic Masterpiece Theatre dramaBritish aristocrat and writer Vita Sackville-West and diplomat Harold Nicolson married in 1913, and their love endured and deepened over the course of their 50 years together. Each, however, was knowingly and repeatedly unfaithful to the other, Vita most famously with fellow writer Virginia Woolf. But only one affair threatened their union: Vita's tempestuous liaison with her childhood friend Violet Keppel. This BBC drama is the story of that affair based on the extraordinary literary biography by Nigel Nicolson, Vita and Harold's son.
Award-winning actress Janet McTeer (Tumbleweeds, Carrington) stars as Vita with David Haig (Two Weeks Notice) as Harold, and Cathryn Harrison (Clarissa) as Violet.
Portrait of a Marriage opens with deceptive calm-- a husband and wife working in a garden look up at planes flying overhead. But the planes are off to bomb Germany and moments later a phone call thrusts the wife--poet and novelist Vita Sackville-West (Janet McTeer, Tumbleweeds)--into a bittersweet reverie from the previous war. Five years into her marriage with Harold Nicolson (David Haig, Two Weeks Notice), Harold confesses his affairs with men--but swears his only true passion is Vita. She accepts this, but when her childhood friend Violet Keppel (Cathryn Harrison, Clarissa) arrives, the two women begin an affair. Soon Vita and Violet find themselves deeply enmeshed, traveling through the gay demimonde of Paris with Vita in men's clothes. The affair becomes all-consuming and starts tearing at Vita and Harold's marriage and the lives of their two children. Portrait of a Marriage practically bursts with revealing psychological details and startlingly steamy sex scenes--as Vita and Violet's relationship grows more carnal, so does the miniseries. But there's nothing casual or exploitive about it; the sex deepens the hold the women have on each other's hearts and leads to emotional pyrotechnics. The tension constantly thickens, made all the more complex because Vita and Harold genuinely love each other, regardless of their sexual longings. The vivid and meticulous recreation of the period frames the superb performances by McTeer, Harrison, and Haig. This four-episode miniseries from 1990, based on the biography by Vita and Harold's son Nigel, is yet another example of the BBC's mastery of literary adaptations. --Bret Fetzer
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