Drugstore.com Coupons
How others will see it. This interesting but artsy movie will annoy some viewers as it shifts back and forth from 1881 to 1981. Women who believe that Meryl Streep is a great actress, and who might enjoy watching Jeremy Irons make a fool of himself over her, have a good chance of sitting through this one.
How I felt about it. Meryl Streep's reputation for art movies was solidified by this effort. Although she is first billed, in truth her character is secondary to that of Jeremy Irons. In the Victorian era FWTF, he is an aristocrat who rapidly becomes lovesick with the 'fallen' Streep. He is all the while engaged to a charming, better-looking woman with a wealthy businessman father. On the set of the FWTF, he is married with a dependent child. Streep is already in a relationship.
The message of the movie is obvious. The illogic of love is timeless. Irons sacrifices his reputation for a woman of dubious reputation. Although infatuated, she nonetheless flees to avoid a full commitment. The disgrace is less for the 1981 version of Irons, despite the fact he's married. Partly, this is because the status of actress Streep is higher. But, mostly, it is because our culture is now indifferent to such matters, unless celebrities or politicians are involved.
Irons' motive is clear. He wants to possess Streep. Perhaps it is his intensity and determination that drives Streep away, despite the fact she's as eager as he is to 'do the deed.'
The curious thing is that both Streep and Irons are clueless that their real lives parallel their film roles. But perhaps they are simply both method actors, and their passion will end after the wrap party. We'll never know, since the film ends on that bittersweet note. Love is returned, but not given. Undoubtedly, it is the best for all concerned.
The French Lieutenant's Woman is associated with Meryl Streep, despite the fact it stars Jeremy Irons. Streep was given a Best Actress Oscar nomination, a nearly annual event for her during the eighties. She uses her full catalog of languid, imploring, and meaningful expressions, generally intended for Irons.
She detects all along that he doesn't pity her, and he doesn't really want to help her. He wants to own her, and the game on her part is to provide ever more dramatic and committed expressions of love on his part. She enjoys the game, but as in her past liason with the possibly fictional French lieutenant, she prefers the tragic aspects of relationships to the work that comes with making them successful.