LORNA DOONE -- DVD Review by Porfle

(Originally posted on 4/21/11

 

LARRY: "And what might your name be, lass?"
LORNA: "Perhaps you've heard it, 'tis Lorna Doone."
SHEMP: "Hi, Lorna!  How ya Doone?"

This exchange from the Three Stooges short "Scotched in Scotland" was pretty much all I ever knew about Lorna Doone, never having read R.D. Blackmore's 1869 novel, seen any of the previous film adaptations, or eaten the cookies.  Now, Acorn Media's DVD release of the Thames Television production of LORNA DOONE (1990) brings me up to speed on the story, although not quite as entertainingly as I might've liked.

It gets off to a good start with a prologue showing how young John Ridd's father was murdered by Carver Doone (Sean Bean, FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, GOLDENEYE) of the Doone clan, a once-noble family now known as marauding outlaws.  This sequence is quite well done and gives John his first glimpse of Lorna, whom Carver has just kidnapped after killing her parents.  It also introduces us to the vast, gloomy countryside that plays such a major role in setting the mood of the film.



Twelve years later we find the older John (Clive Owen, SIN CITY) living with his sister Annie (Jane Gurnett) and mother Sarah (Billie Whitelaw, THE OMEN) on their small farm beneath the ever-lowering sky of rural England.  A chance meeting with the now-grown Lorna (Polly Walker) sparks a forbidden love that stirs things up big-time between the Ridds and the Doones, leading to a deadly feud involving half the local population.

Being a fan of Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights", I was expecting a tempestuous romance similar to that of Heathcliff and Catherine, but the match-up of John and Lorna is a rather tepid affair.  It begins with a 17th-century "meet cute"--John tumbles over a waterfall while fishing and is plucked from the water by Lorna--and never really gets all that passionate or even convincing.  Clive Owen's stiff performance doesn't help, and Polly Walker's Lorna scarcely resembles Bronte's feral nature-child Catherine.

The most warm and heartfelt love affair, in fact, is the one between John's sister Annie and their cousin, notorious highwayman Tom Faggus (Miles Anderson), who comes to the farm seeking asylum.   Tom is a likable rogue and the story comes to life when he's onscreen, whether courting Annie or helping the Ridds fend off the attacking Doone clan in one of the film's two major battle sequences. 

It's here that LORNA DOONE sparks the most interest, although the direction and editing during these scenes is somewhat clumsy.  Sean Bean does all he can with his one-note character and is an effective scenery-chewing villain.  A later attack on the Doone compound by John and his fellow farmers, after the local militia fails to take action, is another relative highpoint.



Still, it's a pretty bland affair, with uninspired direction and unremarkable performances in the lead roles.  The script seems to be checking off the main parts of the story in rather cursory fashion, while the Cliff Notes dialogue lacks depth.  It all gets much more involving when we begin to learn of Lorna's true origins, with some pretty grand surprises in store for the Ridd family, but little of it truly effects us on an emotional level.

Supporting performances are strong, with Jane Gurnett and Miles Anderson as Annie and Tom being the most likable members of the cast. Billie Whitelaw, of course, can't help but be good no matter what she's in.  As Carver's young son Ensie, who is later adopted by John, the diminutive Euan Grant MacLachlan is wonderfully expressive. 

The DVD from Acorn Media is in fullscreen with Dolby Digital sound and English subtitles.  Text-based extras consist of cast filmographies and a biography of novelist R.D. Blackmore.

I probably shouldn't be too picky, since this is a television production that was probably done on a low budget and a tight schedule.  It does manage to maintain interest throughout its running time, with a rich period atmosphere and a smattering of fairly good scenes here and there.  But in the end, this version of LORNA DOONE does little more than make me want to seek out a better one.

LORNA DOONE -- DVD Review by Porfle

BLACK DEATH -- DVD review by porfle

Originally posted on 5/20/11

 

One of the most frightening periods ever--medieval Europe's Black Plague--is given a workout in BLACK DEATH (2010), a dark tale of the Dark Ages with plenty of oppressive atmosphere and grimy period detail.

With half of Europe's population dying off from what is widely perceived as a punishment from God, the church's attention is drawn to a remote village that seems untouched by the plague.  The knight Ulric (Sean Bean) and his men are dispatched by the Bishop to find out why, and to preempt any rumors of a secular salvation from the pestilence.  On their way, they pick up a young monk named Osmund (Eddie Redmayne) who knows the way and was already planning to flee the monastery in order to meet up with his childhood love Averill (Kimberly Nixon).

Early on, we see horrors that are the grim flipside of similar scenes done for laughs in MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL, as people "bring out their dead" to be carted away and a suspected witch is lashed to a stake to be burned by a frenzied mob.  Then we follow Ulric's group as they trudge downriver to the mysterious village, encountering some self-flagellating, cross-bearing refugees and a band of forest outlaws who engage them in a grungy, gory battle to the death.  Director Christopher Smith gets the look and feel of this stuff just right, as everything we see seems to have a veneer of filth and despair.
 


Osmund finds himself amongst a group of Christian soldiers who are hardened by killing.  Some of them, like Ulric and his stalwart lieutenant Wolfstan (John Lynch), suffer deep moral conflicts that mirror Osmund's own spiritual uncertainty.  Knowing that these guys are about to go up against an unknown evil that will test their wavering faith in God doesn't bode well for the outcome. 

Reaching the village, they discover it to be a seemingly idyllic plague-free zone presided over by a beautiful blonde woman named Langiva (Carice van Houten) and a large, vaguely friendly man (Tim McInnerny) whose name, "Hob", should set off a warning bell or two.  This is when the suspenseful slow burn of this leisurely-paced film starts to pay off, as the horrible secret of the village is revealed and our heroes face agonizing death. 

Ulric and the rest are severely tested as they are given the choice to deny God or die.  This begins a harrowing sequence which involves a number of nasty demises including hanging and being pulled apart by horses.  The most wrenching decision is faced by Osmund when his love for Averill is used against him in diabolical fashion, setting the stage for a downbeat ending that won't exactly have viewers whistling a happy tune during the closing credits.
 


Director Smith renders all this in an earthy, matter-of-fact style with lots of handheld camera and very little flash.  The cast play their roles with conviction, with Sean Bean his usual lovable self and Eddie Redmayne doing a good job portraying a young monk in the middle of a spiritual crisis he's hardly ready to endure.  As Langiva, Carice van Houten embodies the silkily seductive evil that holds the village in its grip.  Old fave David Warner shows up in a few brief scenes as the abbott of Osmund's monastery. 

The DVD from Magnolia's Magnet label is in 2.40:1 widescreen with Dolby 5.1 sound and Spanish subtitles.  A "making of" featurette and cast and crew interviews consist mainly of everyone gushing about how wonderful everyone else is.  Also included are some deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes footage, an HDNet short, a trailer, and an authorization code for obtaining a digital copy of the film.

While I didn't find BLACK DEATH particularly stunning or emotionally effecting, it is a worthy and well-made Gothic horror tale that kept me involved right up to the bleak ending.  Best of all, it gives Sean Bean a chance to be Sean Bean, and that alone makes it worth checking out.

BLACK DEATH -- DVD review by porfle