jillmillenniumgirllevin La Ronde on the fringes of Bloomsbury"Carrington" is a sub-Bloomsbury version of La Ronde: X desires Y and sleeps with Z, A wants B, but sleeps with C, and so on and so on. This game of musical beds should carry the film, especially given Jonathan Pryce's uncanny impersonation of Lytton Strachey and Emma Thompson's persuasive Carrington. Add a script and cinematography to fulfill the nostalgia quotient, and le voila: life is lived and art is made en plein air and during an eternal summer; winter seems never seems to intrude, and the "staff" keep discreetly in the kitchen and the basement where they belong. All these Good Things should carry the movie. Alas, they do not. As in all biopics, the writing plays fast and loose with the truth. But was it absolutely necessary to insert two of the most famous Lyttonisms: his account of proposing to Virginia Woolf ('ghastly"), and his declaration that he would try to "come between" his sister and a potential rapist? In this tiny circle, desire balked and desire gratified seem almost incestuous.. And the lack of a coherent narrative leaves us puzzled. For example, Lytton's sudden gift of "a motorcar" to Ralph Partridge is unprepared for and opaque. Is he wooing Partridge? Using Partridge as a pander? Demonstrating uncomplicated generosity? The film's failure to answer questions like these saps its interest. "Carrington"isn't dull, exactly; rather, it's beautiful, nostalgic, and inert.

ddlacree-991-615259 What makes this tale pathetic and even horrifying is that it is true. If the characters central to this saga truly lived their lives in such wretched repression, compulsion, pretension, evasion, subterfuge, denial, longing, jealousy, confusion, suppression, depression, altruism, platonic hypocrisy and lack of courage - then God help them! If their entrapment was a reflection of the age they lived in, then they acquiesced to societal norms and were not the creative, artistic free spirits they pretended or aspired to be. If their ennui was a result of their own inability to live in truth, then their pose was a pretense. There is nothing to admire in this story. Carrington was a coward, Lytton a poseur, and their circle a bunch on namby pamby weaklings. To suicide for a love that never satisfied is the ultimate statement of low self-esteem.If you are a depressive, you may enjoy this movie. Those who live in joy may do better to skip it. Not just skip it, but run, screaming, very fast, in the opposite direction.

L. Denis Brown Biography and history are not well represented among great film productions, one can sense that most film makers prefer to allow their imaginations free rein and avoid any factual constraints. But I always enjoy good biographies, whether in the form of books or films, and for me Carrington is a delightful film to be both savoured and treasured.However London was home to the so-called Bloomsbury group so they became best known in the U.K., and this film would be more readily appreciated there than in North America. The group consisted mainly of the leisured and fairly well to do junior offspring of aristocratic families who were able to spend almost all their time actively participating in the worlds of literature, drama or the arts. Its members were unusual in being very contemptuous of the contemporary moral code, whilst still having strong moral scruples that essentially governed all their actions. World War 1 occurred during the period when they had their greatest influence on British society, and many members of the group became infamous for being conscientious objectors to participating in the war on ethical rather than religious grounds. Sexually they had very progressive attitudes, and generalizing to perhaps a dangerous extent, they viewed personal commitments which had to be preserved as all important, but believed these commitments were made between the individuals concerned and were no business of either the Church or the State.Featured in this film are Emily Carrington and Lytton Strachey. She was a very well regarded artist who seemed to have some repugnance about exhibiting or selling her works in the usual way. He was essentially an essayist who achieved both fame and success with the publication of "Eminent Victorians" - a book of condensed biographies, many only a few paragraphs long but all showing considerable ability to pick out the key character traits that ultimately contributed most to the public image of the individuals concerned. Both are played (by Emma Thompson and Jonathan Pryce) with remarkable depth and sincerity.These brief comments may help anyone who has read little of the characters involved to understand why the film is of real interest to so many older viewers; they can do nothing to convey the charm and yet knife sharp precision it shows in displaying the activities of its principal protagonists. I find it hard to assess how far their activities might become of interest to younger viewers who have no familiarity with the period, purely on the strength of this film. I can however assure those who do not share my background that I found the film not only truly fascinating but also an immensely satisfying viewing experience. Usually, if a film biography causes me to look out for the book on which it was based, this is an indication that the film did not really succeed,; but not so on this occasion when I just felt the urge to enjoy more of the fascinating story.I rate this film at eight stars on the IMDb scale - if I had felt it would have a more universal appeal this would have probably been nine. In what they attempted to do its makers have shown near genius, and both the cinematography and acting are almost above reproach. Today I suspect that some will find it boring, but I believe they will be far fewer than might be expected from the subject matter - this is a prime example of one of the very few outstanding film biographies where a viewer almost feels he or she has got to know the actual characters being portrayed..

fedor8 The never-ending devotion of one woman to a special friend, that lasts over great many years and survives all of her life's lovers...Or: how a frigid married virgin turns into a raving nymphomaniac and shags a number of guys with obvious lust and passion while living with an intellectual poofter.Either way, it's an interesting film with some unusual characters, but uneven. The first third or so is the best, then it gets bogged down in near-soap-opera clichés, only to get better again towards the end. The two leads, Thompson and Pryce, make it work. Thompson is often annoying, but that's usually the case with movies where she is supposed to be funny.