Portrait of a Marriage
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Movie Reviews of Portrait of a Marriage
Movie Review: PBS Series, Great Drama
Summary: 5 Stars
If you enjoy period dramas or bios, check this one out..also a true story written by the couple's son, NigelMovie Review: A Woman Hard To Like
Summary: 4 Stars
It all sounds terribly thrilling at first: a marriage between two homosexuals of opposite sexes, enjoying married life while engaging in same-sex affairs. It's almost too good to be true, which is exactly what is shown in this engrossing dramatization. The acting is flawless, but the characters seem hardly attractive. Vita Sackville-West plays a terribly selfish, destructive person who talks a good game of devotion to husband and children, but loses herself so much in her passing lusts that she not only can't see why she should spend Christmas with her family, but can't see why the British should defeat Hitler. She's giddy with her new-found sexual liberation but becomes a stranger to reason and, finally, almost wholly unsympathetic. Her horsey bad looks and fabulous wealth evidently made her irresistible to some, but as acted this is a woman who verges on the detestable. Husband Harold is oddly weak and ordinary. Vita's girlfriend seems merely vulgar.Movie Review: Scandal behind the hedgerow
Summary: 4 Stars
If you are a dedicated gardener then no doubt you have heard of Sissinghurst. Designed and executed by Vita Sackville-West and her husband Harold Nicolson their gardens are still considered world class. If you are watching this film for gardening tips, I suggest you look elsewhere. As the title of the film hints this is a rather myoptic look at their love lives rather then a how-to gardening primer. The performances are excellent; full of passion and compassion; a worthy tale that stands on it's own merits. However, had they explored more of their accomplishments outside the bedroom then those unfamiliar with the beauty of their creation may have wondered (as I did) when did they find the time for gardening?Movie Review: At Last!
Summary: 3 Stars
Luckily, I was there to tape it, but if you didn't see this when it came on PBS in 1992, you missed it for 14 years. I've been letting many a bisexual female friend borrow my copy, so I'm glad this is finally on DVD. As popular as the topic of female bisexuality is now, I'm really surprised the producers didn't make this decision sooner.
There have been many films where one spouse comes out as gay ("Brokeback Mountain," "Making Love," and "Lianna" are examples). However, this was a rare description of a "lavender marriage" where both spouses are gay. This film may be revolutionary to see for couples that fit that description.
This work was quite pioneering for its time. Cinema fans who love seeing women's narratives in Europe during the first half of the 20th Century will love this. Works such as "Tipping the Velvet", "Henry and June", and "Paris Was a Woman" came after this movie and may have copied elements of it.
Just like "Brokeback Mountain," this film has a tragic conclusion (I haven't given up the plot, you'll have to see it to know what I mean). Since it portrays facts that really happened, I can't fault it much for the ending. Still, be prepared for a downer!
Though Sackville-West had a romantic relationship with Virginia Woolf, it does not come up in this work.
Movie Review: Pretty but downbeat
Summary: 3 Stars
Nigel Nicholson's book is a biographical gem and I expected a lot from the TV series. I was let down. It's prettily filmed, well acted and evokes the period well, but there was a petulant, downbeat feel to the screenplay that wasn't present in the book. Neither Vita Sackville West nor Violet Trefussis was presented sympathetically, which I felt belied the fact that both were sufficiently attractive in real life to interest many suitors of both sexes. The only character who came off well was Nigel Nicholson. Subliminal anti-gay bias in the production team? Despite this, I liked it enough to buy the DVD.