On Chesil Beach

"On Chesil Beach" (R, 1:50) is a drama from first-time feature film director Dominic Cooke (known mainly for helming TV's "The Hallow Crown" and "National Theater Live: A Comedy of Errors"). The screenplay is by British writer Ian McEwan, adapting his own 2007 novella of the same name. The film stars multiple Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan and Billy Howle - and was released one week after another literary adaptation, "The Seagull", in which the same two actors played young Russian lovers. This story follows two young Brits as they meet, fall in love and get married, focusing mainly on the wedding night.

Florence Pointing and Edward Mayhew have just been married and have arrived at a hotel at the titular beach for their honeymoon. Through an uncomfortable dinner in their room and awkward fumblings with their clothes, it becomes painfully clear that they are equally inexperienced and nervous regarding sex. As the evening slowly progresses, we see flashbacks of how their romance developed, with hints at what makes the prospect of sleeping together so uncomfortable for them - especially Florence. When things come to a head, the young marrieds have a seaside conservation which reveals much about who they are (and the era in which they live) and has very important consequences for the rest of their lives.

"On Chesil Beach" is one of the most layered and most profound movies you are likely to see in 2018. Woven in with the development of the romance, the developments on the wedding night and the repercussions of all of it are themes of sexual repression, gender roles, class differences, pride, regret, communication, forgiveness and, of course, love and marriage. Some will say that not much happens in this film, but there is still a whole lot happenING. And through it all, the considerable acting chops of the two leads (bolstered by solid performances from multiple Oscar nominee Emily Watson, Anne-Marie Duff, Samuel West, Adrian Scarborough and Bebe Cave) make the characters exceedingly sympathetic and relevant. This is a very well-done film without much action, but with plenty to show all of us. "A-"

Not everyone finds the transition to sexual adulthood easy, particularly as one is supposed to find it natural. It must have been even harder in the 1950s, when sex was something that you weren't supposed to talk about in polite company. And yet, I never quite understood the point of Ian McEwan's novel 'On Chesil Beach'. The fact is, the human race has never had a problem, overall, in reproducing itself, whatever Larkin may have said about sex starting in 1963. And the book, it seemed to me, sets up the past as another country, completely different from the world we know today, instead of showing how (for most people) life went on more or less as it does now, albeit masked by different norms. Dominic Cooke's film, with a screenplay by McEwan himself, is a pretty faithful rendition of the novel, but doesn't manage to escape its nature as a carefully constructed, unfortunate but fundamentally minor story, whose anchoring in a generally frigid past obscures rather than illuminates its more universal aspects. Now, if someone was to film 'The Comfort of Strangers' that is a movie I'd sure like to watch.

Edward and florence have both just gotten their uni degrees. They fall in love and get married. But they have very different personalities; florence appears so strong and confident, but has her own unspoken past to deal with. Edward is still very young and innocent, and lacks florence's headstrong manner. This story is about how they handle their various issues. Edward seems to be overwhelmed by his own situation at home. Throw in a proud, stubborn streak, and his own inexperience, sexually. Like most young and foolish newlyweds, they don't really communicate properly. Anger and pride keep them both from listening and understanding. The actors do a great job, but it gets quite bleak and dark. Some beautiful scenery of dorset area. And snippets of beautiful classical music, as that is florence's profession. Directed by dominic cooke. Story by ian mcewan.

"Little lamb, Here I am; Come and lick My white neck; Let me pull Your soft wool; Let me kiss Your soft face; Merrily, merrily we welcome in the year." William Blake, from Songs of Innocence Set in 1962, On Chesil Beach is far from 1963 Beach Party with Frankie Avalon and other pre sexual revolution aquatic shenanigans. Chesil is a tightly-wound story of a young Brit couple, Florence (Saoirse Ronan) and Edward (Billy Howle), just married and beyond awkward on the wedding night: dangerously innocent. It's not a comedy, for most of the film is framed by their uncertain movements as he tries to loosen her up (a major challenge) and she tries to get in the mood. Based on a novel and screenplay by the great Ian McEwan, this dramatic romance crystallizes the damaging innocence of the times and the dire need for experience. While 21st-century easy hookup time is not ideal, the danger of being clueless about the power of sex and its mandates is palpable in this star-crossed story. Florence, an upper-middle class musician with a fledgling quartet, is both the scourge of Edward's hopes to be a successful husband and the hope for their love that tries to transcend sexuality. Mozart laces throughout to elevate Darwinian love making, reminding of the ethereal heights to which art can elevate love. Yes, it's a beautifully melancholic romance whose future is endangered by present repressive times, a legacy those of us know well who were taught about the opposite sex by tyrannical and ignorant clericals, who had never been married and were usually virgins. So much is set on the beach with flashbacks to help us understand the demons that it is easy to see the future through the repression of the present. Much of the movie moves through the awkward attempt at first sex, pristine by contemporary standards. Yet, that discomfort is necessary to understand the uncompromising fate of the couple and the tears that will inevitably come. Regardless of where anyone is now, this powerful love story reminds of how deeply we are indebted to sex and how treating it casually or ignorantly inevitably leads to lives of desperation. Although at times On Chesil beach echoes the delicacy of love in Call Me By Your Name and at others by the talk of Richard Linklater's Before series, this romance evokes the innocence of first love and the ruthlessness of experience. Beautifully photographed by Sean Bobbitt, Chesil still owes most of its greatness to Dominic Cooke's direction, where the harshness of failed expectations is tempered by a love that transcends, but cannot denounce, sex. "Break this heavy chain, That does freeze my bones around! Selfish, vain, Eternal bane, That free love with bondage bound." Blake, Songs of Experience

I love Saoirse Ronan so much, just like everyone else in the universe should. She's a supremely talented actress and I knew I had to see this film as soon as I could. On Chesil Beach is a film made by a first time director in Dominic Cooke. The film also reunites Billy Howle and Ronan, after starring in The Seagull (which came out a week ago as it is). So Saoirse Ronan month continues and On Chesil Beach was definitely enjoyable. The film is a little different than I expected but is a satisfying experience.

The film is about two young people who get married and are anxious about consummating for the very first time. It turns out having sexual intercourse has really big implications on their present relationship and what their future holds for them as well. The film utilizes flashbacks within present time and then flashes to the future so that we can see the two leads in different times of their life and how their lives coincide at each step.

Saoirse Ronan is typically fantastic in this. She's such a talent in everything she's in and her raw emotion and hesitation in committing to a physical relationship is portrayed with a delicate confidence. The film is sharply written, although it falters a few steps of the way. Its a different type of story focused on a physical experience that usually doesn't matter to this extent in other films. The film's last twenty minutes are really well done and bring the picture together. We've all kind of been there with the first time so its easy to relate and know the nervousness involved by both parties.

The cinematography is fantastic, especially when it comes to life on the extended scene at the beach. Costumes design and set design are also up to par. The film presents itself with grace and poise. The film will make a name out of Billy Howle and Dominic Cooke. Cooke seems like an experienced filmmaker and he can only grow from here. I will obviously continue to follow Saoirse's films like a lost puppy in the hopes that she is finally rewarded with an Academy Award.

7/10