England, 1600. Queen Elizabeth I promises Orlando, a young nobleman obsessed with poetry, that she will grant him land and fortune if he agrees to satisfy a very particular request.
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CinemaSerf
7
By CinemaSerf
Tilda Swinton is superb in this story of the eponymous Tudor noble who obeys a command from the enamoured Queen Elizabeth (Quentin Crisp) and refuses to grow old. The film now follows the adventures, loves and ultimately depicts how the character adapts - quite literally - as England becomes Britain and eventually he becomes free! The experiences as an ambassador in the middle east, the determination to retain the family property when the authorities begin to smell a rat, the arrival of a child - all build upon this wonderfully enigmatic Virginia Woolf creation that defies typical analysis. This is story of humanity and of it's own reluctance to embrace meaningful change as events and the environment relentlessly changes around it. Historical figures from Othello to King James I appear throughout this quirkily engaging chronology that is colourful, vibrant and enjoyably imaginative with this particular adaptation taking a little liberty with the book by extending the timeline into the more modern era. Whilst "Orlando" may evolve with some Hermaphroditic characteristics, they serve as a conduit to this story and are not overtly central to the action. It's that very gender ambiguity that becomes gradually better defined as if the immortal is emerging from a fog - and Sally Potter keeps that remarkably well focused for the ninety minutes of screen time we are presented with here. It is an hard film to evaluate, it may or will mean many different things to many different people, and that's what makes it very watchable indeed.
