20th Century Controversy to Artistic Display of Intimacy

Netflix has released a new film adaptation for D.H. Lawrence's infamousnovel from the early 20th century. The film titled Lady Chatterley's Lover(2022) stars Emma Corrin and Jack O'Connell. The film is directed by theFrench director, Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre.  The film follows Constance "Connie" Reid (Emma Corrin), a young woman who gets married to an upper-class […]

Varsha Jayaprasad
13th February 2023
Image Credit: IMDb

Netflix has released a new film adaptation for D.H. Lawrence's infamous
novel from the early 20th century. The film titled Lady Chatterley's Lover
(
2022) stars Emma Corrin and Jack O'Connell. The film is directed by the
French director, Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre. 

The film follows Constance "Connie" Reid (Emma Corrin), a young woman who gets married to an upper-class baronet, Sir Clifford Chatterley (Matthew Duckett). Connie and Clifford have a happy marriage in the beginning which unfortunately doesn't remain a very happy space due to the war. Clifford is sent to the front lines right after the wedding and due to the war, he is left paralyzed from the waist down.

Through these interactions, Connie understands and transcends the boundaries of class

The couple move from the eventful life in London to Clifford’s family estate in the quiet countryside in Wragby. Connie tends to Clifford for all of his needs and in the process starts feeling very lonely. Clifford starts exploring and pursuing new areas of interests such as writing novellas and investing in mines. Whilst Clifford finds his new passion, Connie spends her time out of the house and by the gamekeeper’s cottage. She visits the cottage first to see if the new pheasants in the coop had laid eggs, and soon she visits the cottage quite often to spend her time a read there. As Connie visits the cottage often, she develops an attraction for the game keeper, Oliver Mellors. Eventually Connie and Oliver start having an affair where they sexually explore and redefine their relationship. Through these interactions, Connie understands and transcends the boundaries of class and can completely comprehend the circumstances she is placed in.

The film undertakes a cinematographic style which is filled with picturesque imagery of the early 20th century English countryside. Connie and Oliver’s relationship is portrayed as a tender and passionate affair. There is an innate beauty expressed through the intimate scenes that take place within the film. Corrin and O’Connell display a deeply passionate and naturally appealing chemistry.

The novel Lady Chatterley's Lover was flagged down as a work of obscenity back in 1960. Due to the usage of words such as “Fuck” and “Cunt” along with many sexually explicit mentions in the text, the novel was banned from various countries for quite some time.

The film also highlights the differences in class and the struggles that the lower class faces after the war. The mentions of the exploitation of miners do drive the plot within the film. Connie and Oliver understand the spaces they are stuck in and as a result regard themselves free whilst with one another.

AUTHOR: Varsha Jayaprasad
Hi! I'm Varsha. I am an M.A. Media and Journalism Student at Newcastle University. I enjoy writing for the courier and I wish to be a full-fledged journalist in the future

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