Lady Chatterley

  • Review Date: December 3, 2007
  • NR
  • Genre: Drama
  • 2007
 Review

Common Sense Media says

Lusty D.H. Lawrence adaptation for adults only.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Not yet rated

Kids say

Not yet rated

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this subtitled French drama -- which is about infidelity, how lust morphs into love, and why sex can be transformative -- isn't for kids. Though it's mostly sophisticated when it comes to tackling the subject of sex -- a tough feat considering there's so much of it in the movie -- some scenes are quite graphic (one shows a woman atop a man, both naked; another shows a man's genitals). And the sounds the lovers make during sex are even more explicit. And then there's the fact that the movie devolves into class struggles in a way that may be too complicated for younger viewers, anyway.

  • Lady Constance and Parkin indulge in infidelity; later, she hints to her husband that she may try to get pregnant by another man. He doesn't protest, but merely airs his "conditions" (the man must be of "decent" stock, etc.). Constance lies about her whereabouts, and Lord Clifford speaks dismissively of the men who work for him in his family's mines.
  • Very little. There's a moment when one character tells her confidante about another character's brawl, but no actual fighting is seen on screen. Also, Sir Clifford and his pals discuss the gruesome business and casualties of war in an early scene.
  • A handful of scenes depict simulated intercourse, though in many of them the characters are still partially clothed. Only a few scenes show both characters fully naked from head to toe engaged in sex. Genitals -- male and female -- are shown in one scene; later, the lovers lie atop each other naked. In another scene, Constance and Parkin put flowers in each other's pubic region and run naked in the rain. Constance stands in front of a mirror naked from the waist up, then takes off the rest of her clothes.
  • Mild and flowery. Sexual conquest is prefaced by a fairly innocuous "Do you want to be with me?"
  • Not applicable.
  • Some smoking (including close-ups of cigarettes being lit or offered in their cases). More tea-drinking than alcohol -- sex is the drug of choice here -- though wine is served at parties.

What's the story?

With her husband, Lord Clifford Chatterley (Hippolyte Girardot), crippled from a war injury, Lady Constance (Marina Hands) spends her time caring for him and running their enormous household. The repetitive days are sapping her life away until she takes a walk in the woods to talk to the gamekeeper, Oliver Parkin (Jean-Louis Coulloc'h). Soon, Constance and Parkin begin spending time together outside his work cabin -- she, the lady of the estate, reconnecting with the outdoors, and he, the employee, keeping out of her way. But it's only a matter of time before they consummate their growing attraction in a scene so untamed it jolts her to life.


Is it any good?

 

It would be much too easy to classify writer-director Pascale Ferran's LADY CHATTERLEY as pure titillation. After all, it's based on D.H. Lawrence's scandalous novel (the version titled John Thomas and Lady Jane, anyway), and yes, there's plenty of sex and nudity. But to do so would be a disservice both to Lawrence and to the able Ferran; the film didn't win scores of Cesars (France's version of the Oscars) for nothing. In less skillful and respectful hands, Lady Chatterley (in French with English subtitles) could have easily devolved into a soft-porn vehicle masquerading as intelligent cinema.

The movie isn't without shortcomings, however: The textual transitions -- basically explanation in plain white letters printed against a black background -- are clunky (though they do move the action quite a bit). And while dreamy indolence seems apt for a re-telling of the Lawrence classic, Ferran overdoes it. With too many scenes feeling overly portentous (black clouds roiling overhead, too-verdant fields glistening under the sun, dew dripping from flowers) it becomes not just languorous but downright slow.


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What families can talk about

Families can talk about what differentiates lust from love. How do movies distinguish between the two, if they do at all? Do they sometimes seem to be one and the same? In this movie, does Lady Constance still love her husband? If so, why does she take a lover? Are her actions at all justified or explained?


This review was written by S. Jhoanna Robledo

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This review was written by S. Jhoanna Robledo
Studio:Maia Films
Director:Pascale Ferran
Cast:Hippolyte Girardot, Jean-Louis Coulloc'h, Marina Hands
Genre:Drama
Run time:168 minutes
Theatrical release date:June 22, 2007
DVD release date:December 4, 2007
MPAA rating:NR
MPAA explanation:not rated

This review was written by S. Jhoanna Robledo
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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