Main Cast: Tilda Swinton, Billy Zane, Lothaire Bluteau, John Wood, Charlotte Valandrey
Release Year: 1992
Country: NL/FR/IT/UK
Run Time: 93 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Independent filmmaker Sally Potter's gender-bending epic, which views four centuries of sexual politics through the eyes of a sex-switching main character, is based on the 1928 novel by Virginia Woolf. The androgynous title character is played with delicate quietude by Tilda Swinton. The story begins during the reign of the aging Queen Elizabeth I (Quentin Crisp, in a droll turn recalling his The Naked Civil Servant). Queen Elizabeth takes a shine to the attractive young Orlando and seeks out his sexual favors. In return, Elizabeth grants him a large estate, commanding him, "Do not fade, do not wither, do not grow old." Orlando takes the queen at her word and doesn't. When Elizabeth dies, Orlando becomes attracted to Sasha (Charlotte Valandrey), the daughter of a Russian diplomat, but she rebuffs his advances. Crushed, Orlando accepts an ambassadorship to Constantinople. After witnessing the killing of a man in battle, Orlando undergoes a change of sex, becoming a woman and returning to England, where she hobnobs with 18th-century geniuses like Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, and John Addison. Walking through a garden labyrinth, the time frame shifts to the 19th century, and Orlando falls in love with a handsome American (Billy Zane). Now in the 20th century, Orlando gives birth to his child and continues on. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Review
Orlando is a witty visual spectacle with compelling ideas and a story with many gaping holes that are open to interpretation. The source novel by Virginia Woolf, written as a love letter to Vita Sackville-West, was adapted for the screen by director Sally Potter, who also composed the musical score. With a budget of four million dollars, Potter manages to re-create 400 years of European history, complete with royal landscapes and elaborate costumes. The inspired set was the work of experimental filmmaker Peter Greenaway's production designers, Ben Van Os and Jan Roelfs. The plot is generally overshadowed by the remarkably talented Tilda Swinton portraying the character of Orlando throughout different times, places, and genders. It is never explained why or how Orlando can persevere without aging and change from a he into a she, yet Swinton's performance remains convincing. The supporting characters never develop into much, despite such clever casting as Quentin Crisp playing Queen Elizabeth I. However lacking in narrative elements, Orlando is a humorous and fascinating study of gender identity throughout history, made with an observant and critical eye on the traditions of Victorian costume dramas. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
Quentin Crisp - Elizabeth I; Heathcote Williams - Nick Greene/Publisher; Peter Eyre - Mr. Pope; Jimmy Somerville - Falsetto/Angel; Dudley Sutton - James I; John Grillo - 1st Official; Roger Hammond - Mr. Swift; Barbara Hicks - 2nd Older Woman; Thom Hoffman - William of Orange; Mary McLeod - 1st Older Woman; Jerome Willis - Translator; Sarah Crowden - Queen Mary; Robert Demeger - 3rd Valet; Ned Sherrin - Mr. Addison; Simon Russell Beale - Earl of Moray; Kathryn Hunter - Countess; Toby Jones - Valet; John Byrne - Courtier
Credit
Michael Buchanan - Art Director, Michael Howells - Art Director, Martine Kelly - Associate Producer, Sandy Powell - Costume Designer, Sally Potter - Director, Herve Schneid - Editor, Sally Potter - Composer (Music Score), Jan Roelfs - Production Designer, Ben Van Os - Production Designer, Alex Rodionov - Cinematographer, Laurie Borg - Producer, Christopher Sheppard - Producer, Christopher Hobbs - Set Designer, Sally Potter - Screenwriter, Virginia Woolf - Book Author
It was particularly acclaimed for its visual treatment of the settings of Woolf's 1928 novel. Potter chose to film much of the Constantinople portion of the book in the isolated city of Khiva in Uzbekistan, and made use of the forest of carved columns in the city's 18th century Juma mosque.
The film goes beyond the novel in that it brings Orlando's life into the early 1990s.
The film begins within the Elizabethan Age shortly before the death of Queen Elizabeth I. On her deathbed Elizabeth gives a young nobleman named Orlando a large tract of land and a Castle built on it along with a generous monetary gift which she will only give to him with the promise "Do not fade. Do not wither. Do not grow old." both he and his heirs will always keep the land and inheritance forever. Orlando makes the promise and after her death lives in the castle for many centuries during which Orlando pursues interests in poetry and art, although his attempts to befriend a celebrated poet backfire when the poet writes a cruel satire about him. Orlando then travels to Constantinople as British ambassador to the Turks, but is almost killed in a diplomatic intrigue. Waking up the next morning, however, he learns something even more startling: he has turned into a woman overnight.
The now 'Lady' Orlando comes home to her estate in Middle Eastern garb, only to learn that she has several impending lawsuits, The lawsuits are centrally based on the believed fact that Orlando was a woman to begin with and therefore has no right to the land or any of Her/His royal inheritance.
The succeeding centuries tire her; the court case, bad luck in love and the wars of British history eventually bring her up to the 1990s with a book written and a child; having lived a most bizarre existence, yet having found a tranquil niche within it.
