Shadowlands
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Movie Reviews of Shadowlands
Movie Review: More beautiful than love, alas, you die
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a very strange film, a most extraordinary film. C.S. Lewis and his brother are two unmarried professors in Oxford, living together in the same house. They are living in this haven of peace that Oxford is, entirely dedicated to learning and knowledge, to the maturation of men in the teenagers they get every year, year in and year out. It is their function, their aim, their target and they cannot be derailed from this perspective. Oxford is their own territory and their own world and the world has no limits within these limits of Oxford, and an eventual trip to London for a lecture, but never beyond. C.S. Lewis is a special case in that entirely ghettoized intellectual world. He writes stories for children, for the children he will never have. These stories are about a strange world beyond the bottom of a wardrobe in the attic of his home. A world of bad and evil, of fighting for good and against evil. And yet his life is a routine that would kill thinking out of any human being. But not him, and plenty others around him. They are righteously living in the comfort of academia. The top echelon of that academia. Till one day when an American woman and her young child comes up and asks for an autograph. And the ghetto implodes. The peace is gone, love takes its place. The diplomatic marriage will eventually give way to a real marriage, but on a sick bed in a hospital. She finds out, too late of course, she has bone cancer and will eventually and soon die. And that's how C.S. Lewis discovers there is another love he had never really thought of and certainly not experienced: love for another human being that becomes your horizon and for whom you are dawn and dusk at the same time. That love that makes you mute and talkative in the same minute, so much the one and so much the other that your tongue trips on your muteness and your words get strangled in your talk. Love as a feeling of total gift of yourself to the other and of the other to yourself, with the tremendous responsibility that goes along with it. And death then becomes an unacceptable step away from this reality. Death comes and love will never go away and will turn into suffering, longing, wanting, needing and never getting the satisfaction you could ever wish to get. Love is for life I was going to say, oh yes, love is for life and even beyond life, for death if it comes and when it comes. Love never turns into ashes and never goes back to dirt because it is not dirt, it is the soul of the heart and the mind of life. And that's what C.S. Lewis actually discovers late in his life and never forgot after that. He finally learned how to be a fully blooming man, but it hurts so much when you learn love from within the death of your beloved. I must say the slow rhythm of the film, the very intimates scenes, the delicacy of the language and the acting, and the art of Anthony Hopkins serve that theme so well, so beautifully. It seems to be able to last for ever and ever, and yet the young son, now step-son, is there to remind you the show of life goes on for ever and ever on the stage of the strutting human beings we are.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne, University Paris 8 Saint Denis, University Paris 12 Créteil, CEGID
Movie Review: What Price Love?
Summary: 5 Stars
This review refers to the DVD(HBO) edtion of "Shadowlands"...With every viewing of this touching and true romance, I become more appreciative of what a fine film this is. Had I written a review after the first time I watched it, I probably would have gone 4 stars. The first time around, I really got to know C.S. Lewis and Joy Gresham thanks to the deep and moving performances of Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger. After that it was joy spending more time with them, really getting to know their story, and taking in the magnificent work of Director Richard Attenborough and the photography of Roger Pratt.
The story is a bittersweet tale of a mid-life romance that is all to short. C.S. Lewis, the famous writer of children's stories, lives the quiet life of a proper gentleman. He's a professor at Oxford,devout Christian,set in his ways, never married and is repsected by all that know him.When Joy Gresham a divorced, Jewish, Communist, brash New Yorker, with a young son enters his world,things as he knows them are about to change.They develop a friendship and soon she starts to melt the icy wall he has built up around his perfect world. To the shock of all those that know him well, Lewis finally lets his emotions be a part of his life. It is only when Joy becomes terminally ill with cancer, that he realizes the full depth of his love for this woman and her son, and must learn to deal with the pain as well.
I can't think of anyone else who could be C.S. Lewis. Hopkins is a virtuoso. One look at his eyes and we know the depth of his feelings. Winger is an impressive of a match for him as Gresham was for Lewis. She knows how to grab your heart and keep it("Terms of Endearment"). I must also mention the talented young Joseph Mazzello who turns in a remarkable performance as Douglas, Joy's son. William Nicholson has turned his stageplay into a beautiful screenplay, and the music by George Fenton flows with the story.
The DVD is a nice presentation in widescreen, that takes in the splendor of the scenery and sights of England. The tech info here states that the sound is in Dolby Dig 5.1. It is not.(This appears to be the only edtion) The sound is in DD2.0 Surround, and although the dialouge is a little low, the surround sound is very good. Special features include a "Behind the Scenes Featurette" and excerpts of interviews with the stars, the filmmakers and a now grown Douglas Gresham.
The story is a true love story.Five Stars for one that reminds us that to love and to be loved is worth the price of the pain it sometimes brings......enjoy....Laurie
Movie Review: Sometimes, there is no happy ending...
Summary: 5 Stars
Prerequisites for this film: two hours of uninterupted, quiet time, and a box of tissues.
Those deeply committed to their spouse, or any loved one, will be deeply touched by the absolute torment a man can be driven to by the death of that loved one. Especially hard to deal with is the feeling of helplessness in the heart of a man so formerly, and otherwise powerful and emotionally detached. It leads one to the dangerous place where it seems that the promise of true love threatens to be merely a cruel practical joke perpetrated by a God who, strangley enough calls himself "Love."
The story is touching and moving, and ghastly effective in driving the "cruel" point home. For instance:
There's always background music in a film. But at this point, the scene is silent. Silent for what seems like an eternity, in a room with only a bed visible. On it lays Lewis' wife, while he kneels with his head laying silently on on the side of her bed. Only the clock can be heard ticking, slowly, endlessly. She's dying, and they both know it. And that's the source of the pain.
The dialogue is engaging and heart-breaking at times. Lewis is left to explain to Joy the seriousness of her condition, and when she finds out:
He: "I don't want to lose you..."
She: "I don't want to be lost..."
The movie is so sad because it's so true - and true not just for Lewis fifty some-odd years ago; but true for all of us, by the thousands every day. Every man and wife, every father and son, every mother and daughter knows that this day is coming for us too, and we are all helpless to avoid it, or to stop it when it comes.
This movie's emotional impact will not stop when the credits roll. It will not stop on the way home. It will not stop for DAYS. It's actually been about six years since I viewed the film, and I want to watch it again, but I have been avoiding it because I already know the deep impact it is going to extoll on me in the process. That's how powerful it is.
On a purely pragmatic note, I've never really been a big fan of Deborah Winger, but she comes across nicely in this film, and of course Anthony Hopkins turns in his usual best.
For further reading, two books by Lewis directly address the events in the movie. "A Grief Observed" wherein the author relates his tormented passage through the grief following his wife's death - a journey that takes him to the very edge of his faith in God, and "Suprised By Joy" which chronicles his "recovery" and renewed faith.
Movie Review: Ride the Magic
Summary: 5 Stars
The sheer beauty of this film is stunning. Scenes of Oxford and its magnificent medieval buildings are breathtaking. The famed splendor of the English countryside beguiles. Add to this the spectacular performance of Sir Anthony Hopkins playing revered author/philosopher C.S. Lewis, and you have a stellar movie.Shadowlands is set in the early '50s when Lewis was a middle-aged bachelor. All is well in his world. He is a huge success as an author, teacher and speaker. His life is well ordered to the point of being hum drum, and it is exactly the way he likes it. He meets an American, Joy Gresham (excellently played by Debra Winger) who turns his life upside down. Probably for the first time in his life, he does something really foolish. He marries Joy to give her "green card" status. The marriage is supposed to be "only technical." He lives in Oxford, she in London. Joy becomes ill, and Lewis realizes the depth of his feeling for her. Only when she has received a death sentence, does he fully and reluctantly give himself over to his love for her. When he loses her, his grief and pain devastate him to the point where he actually loses his faith. Joy has tried to prepare him, "We can't have the happiness of yesterday without the pain of today. That's the deal." but nothing in Lewis's life has readied him for it.
Yes, "Shadowlands" is a two-hankie affair, but not in the usual sense. It is a path and a journey and a reawakening. Hopkins is so powerful in his role that the viewer sees Lewis as multi-faceted: a shy man, almost naïve in many areas, detached but armored with huge intelligence and cosmopolitan skills. Debra Winger plays off him with a wonderful chemistry. (I had to wince at her perfect '50s wardrobe. It was impeccably "right" in authenticity, but so terribly unbecoming!) I also much admired Edward Hardwicke who played Lewis' s brother Warnie. His warmth and genuine kindness set off Hopkins's detachment and shyness. Richard Attenborough made "Shadowlands" a seamless experience.
The DVD pkg. was good, particularly liked the behind-the-scenes feature. The picture was sharp and clear. My only complaint was the sound. The dialogue was frequently hard to understand.
-sweetmolly-Amazon.com Reviewer
Movie Review: A gem of a movie
Summary: 5 Stars
How thankful i am for the day i discovered Joseph Mazzello. Because, to tell you the truth i would never had given this film my attention
hadn't i known Mazzello was in it. And how wrong would i have been, if i hadn't had seen it. I mean, a" fan from a America comes to visit her favourite writer in england with
her son, they fall in love..." "Bla bla bla, i'm snoozing already..." That would've been my reaction. But since i really wanted to see Mazzello perform, i stayed with it.
And boy, was i in for a treat. I guess there are no better words to describe this film than as a gem amongst the movies.
Today you really have to dig deep to find it on any local Tv stations or stores for that matter.
However, ironically, this film is so filled with rich and deep thoughts, that every next line by the main actors, makes you stop and think.
How sadly underrated this film is. I never knew Richard Attenorough was a director, and finding he directed this film was not a disappointment.
What truly is magical is the script and what the actors managed to do with it. First off, we have the master in his field, Anthony Hopkins, and the gracious Debra Winger
playing the "in love" couple, although their realtionship couldn't be further from today's view on realtionships.
Although they barely show any physical affections throughout the film, they managed to make the audience believe in their more profound realtionship of
hurt and scarred people, who in Lewis' case are afraid to let go and admit their love to a person beside them.
The best scene in the film, however goes to Anthony Hopkins and Joseph Mazzello (who may as well one day take his place), towards the end of the movie,
when they finally comfort each other. You haven't seen this movie? Well, what are you waiting for, for heaven's sake?