Week Two: Lady Chatterly

Film: Lady Chatterly (2007), Pascale Ferran

In the French adaptation of Lady Chatterly's Lover by D.H. Lawrence, the emotional awakening of Constance Chatterly by a younger, less-well-off suitor became the central theme of a story originally centering more on the differences in class. Beautifully so, might I add. The relationship truly follows the course of what some would describe as a "real life affair." In a review of the film, Edward Lee said, " Their first coupling is awkward -- paced as though it was plucked from reality -- with mylady clearly not quite knowing what to do, what to think, or what to make of the experience while Parkin remains -- at all times -- largely servant-like. Afterwards, neither take a moment to bask in the awakening, per se; largely, they both desire to return to their lives, and it isn't until a few days later that they experience the real emotional awakening that comes from their attachment. "

It's no small wonder that Constance (Connie) was taken by her gardener, Parkin's, charm. She basically lived an imprisoned life, what with her husband crippled and unable to really give her what she desires, and the break in monotony that this man brings was relief. Even with Parkin being so unforgivably unromantic (going so far as to say "what the point in talking" before sex), he fulfilled in Connie a desire that her husband could not. She fell for him quickly because of this, and he in turn fell in love with her because of her persistence. This plot then was expected, if not to a cliched degree, but I enjoyed it nonetheless, mostly because of the side-plot of the maid Mrs Bolton's relationship with Mr. Chatterly. The scene where she shaves him held infinite more intrigue for me than the simplistic love affair of the main characters. Even the ending is to be expected: Connie can't leave her husband for fear of insecurity (financial instability), Parkin can't be so ignoble as to steal another man's wife, and Mr. Chatterly can't walk so he didn't get much choice in the matter, anyway. In this though, there is truth, and truth is hard to come by.

In an interview with the New York Times in April of 2006, the director said, “The book is no longer scandalous today, but its view of sexuality is still in the extreme minority. It’s on the side of joy and the flourishing of the body. It considers sexuality without guilt, which is completely opposite to the puritanism of Lawrence’s time and also to the neo-puritanism, so to speak, of our time." In this, I think the film succeeds. There is a definite spur of joy and pleasure and carnal fulfillment that's really a cornerstone of the new bohemia of modern society. Free love, as they said in the 60's, is coming back, and it's made apparent in this film.

As far as an adaptation goes, this felt very French. The love and lust and desire aspects were elevated, placing the class imbalance as more of an obstacle to overcome (and eventually succumb to) than a criticism of the imbalance itself, as seen in the book. It's odd though because this story seems to be one that has been told before: woman falls in love with gardener because her marriage sucks. How Desperate Housewives, really. I think the films saving grace in this sense was the awkwardness of those first moments of sexuality between Connie and Parkin. There was legitimacy in each moment of tenderness and especially in those moments of carnal desire unleashed. The quietness of Mrs. Bolton's desire echoes the rambunctiousness of Lady Chatterly's affair, creating an air of romance to the piece that could only be described as French.