Lady Chatterley (2006)

Quite superb. Lawrence's works do not easily lend themselves to the screen because so much of their value lies in his dense and poetic prose, as others here have pointed out. However, this film comes closest to capturing the essence of his message and perhaps even outdoes him in some respects, as the characters in this film are so such real and believable people, rather than literary symbols with impossibly rich and sensitive inner lives. It is indeed very long and exceedingly slow, by Hollywood standards, but it is never less than engrossing. Obviously, sex and sensuality and what they mean in human lives are at the heart of the story, so the film necessarily includes some nudity and non-explicit sex. One or two reviewers have implied that it could have been made without showing either, but then it would have not been Lady Chatterley. (The film is based on John Thomas and Lady Jane, an earlier version of Lawrence's better-known novel, Lady Chatterley's Lover.) In fact, the sex scenes could have been substantially more graphic without detracting one whit from the movie's considerable dramatic merits and might well have enhanced them, considering the source material. However, that might still be a step too far for most mainstream audiences. Finally, the performances are all good, but Marina Hands' is quite outstanding - never less than transparent, fluid, and utterly authentic. She is in virtually every scene and carried the film in a way that few, if any, other actors could. Jean-Louis Coulloc'h, as Parkin the gamekeeper, is monosyllabic until the very last few minutes, in which he suddenly reveals a depth of character and feeling that had scarcely been hinted at in the rest of the film. Bravo all round!

Pascale Ferran's LADY CHATTERLEY is an exquisitely wrought film. The themes of the Lawrence novel frame the film, but Ferran seems to have put together her own very contemporary treatment despite the literary and time period setting. The photography is breathtaking and is integral to my characterization of the film as "exquisitely wrought." The first part of the film moves very, very slowly with almost no dialogue as the luxurious expanses of the country landscape are defined along with the formal and aristocratic settings of the Wragby estate. The obsession, both photographically and from a time duration standpoint, with the landscape serves a significant two-fold purpose---establishing Nature as a primary element in this world and reinforcing the beauty/sensuality of that Nature. That becomes a critical underpinning to the orchestration to the unfolding of the very sensual and sexual relationship of Constance and the Gamekeeper Parkin. If there was a weakness in the film, it would be the concluding section of the film which seemed more simply a patchwork of ideas and actions and not the carefully orchestrated ever increasingly complex visual and thematic development of the first half to two-thirds. However, the ending left everything up in the air as concerns the future of their relationship which I thought was a masterful stroke. There was no smug Hollywood resolution in either direction nor did Ferran give it a particularly French "affaire de passion" resolution. The ending seemed very realistic and "now" and in that sense probably departs from Lawrence in the most dramatic way. This is a must see film!

Though my favorite adaptation of D.H. Lawrence's "Lady Chatterley's Lover" is the 1992 version with Joely Richardson and Sean Bean playing the lead roles, this 2006 French adaptation is well-done too. I just felt that in adapting it in French, the finer nuances of D.H. Lawrence's original English was lost. The movie is also rather long, clocking in at almost three hours [the first hour was extremely slow-moving] and could have done with some editing.Anyway, in this adaptation, the director Pascale Ferran has adopted an earlier, less scandalous version of Lawrence's work as her source, focusing instead on sex as a catalyst that brings about major changes in the two leads. Lady Constance Chatterley [Marina Hands who went on to star in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly] is an oppressed young wife whose WW I vet and crippled husband, Clifford [Hippolyte Girardot] is unable to fulfill his wife's physical or emotional needs. He moves them to his country estate, Wragby where Constance feels lost and bored. Things change when Constance comes upon the half exposed [waist up] gamekeeper Oliver Parkin [Jean-Louis Coulloc'h] and fascinated, she contrives situations where the pair meet and eventually begin an affair. The sex scenes are very sensual, focusing not so much on the pure gyrations of the act but also on the facial expressions on the two people involved. Both actors really get into their roles, and their vivid facial expressions, especially Marina Hands', convey not just pleasure, but also the dawning realization of the power of sex. There are about six sex scenes in this movie, and there is a sort of chronological development in the pair's affair that mirrors the progression of their feelings for each other - from the first almost clumsy and brief encounter to the development of closeness and eventually love.Marina Hands plays her role with consummate skill, from an almost naive and relatively inexperienced young woman to one who experiences a thoroughly sensual awakening and a liberation of senses. Jean-Louis Coulloc'h as the gamekeeper Parkin is credible as the rough yet gentle gamekeeper who is aware of the discrepancies in class between him and the lady of the house, yet loves with his body and soul.Beautifully filmed, "Lady Chatterley" mesmerizes with its in-depth characterizations and its sensual portrayal of a passionate love story that crosses the lines of class and rules of society.

Slightly ok remake of the “Lady Chatterley” series. Recommend watching Young Lady Chatterley and Lady Chatterley’s Lovers first as these are the originals.