Portrait of a Marriage

Watched this TV movie way back in Stockholm, Sweden in 1991. I would not have believed it could happen in real life, if it had been a fiction, but it is not. It set me wondering for a bit. I like it a lot, though. The portrayal of Vita Sackville -West by Janet McTeer was very convincing , almost real, while Cathryn Harrison's portrayal of Violet Trefusis was interesting. The whole episode was truly heartbreaking and showed the complexities of the characters involved. Credit be given to Penelope Mortimer for the screenplay and the director Stephen Whittaker. The movie was also rather successful in capturing the scenes and the social stratification of England and France of the early 20th.century.

The BBC miniseries issued on DVD have been sustaining me this winter. I found this one at my public library; it had been eluding me for many years. I am a fan of Janet McTeer and Cathryn Harrison, and found the account of the love affair between Vita Sackville-West and Violet Trefusis to be fairly engrossing, although overlong (at almost four hours). The problem is that these people are only moderately interesting--we remember Vita, if we remember her at all, as a character from Virginia Woolf's Orlando, while Harold is known as the author of diaries from the 1930's in which he recounts his experiences with Oswald Mosley and other famous people. Harold and Vita are bit-players on the stage of Europe between the wars, not principal players.

I was entertained by the two female leads, who were brought to life successfully by Penelope Mortimer's screenplay. Cathryn Harrison was especially vivid in her portrayal of the more emotional and headstrong Violet. David Haig was excellent as the repellent Harold, a man who has his cake and wants to eat it too (in other words, have Vita as his wife and enjoy men on the side). Peter Birch as Trefusis was no more interesting than an illustration on the cover of a biscuit tin.

Vita Sackville-West and Sir Harold Nicholson were married for more than 50 years and the parents of Benedict and Nigel Nicholson MBE, OBE, who wrote about his parents' unusual marriage in a very loving way. Both Vita and Harold had homosexual relationships on the side but it was Vita's relationship with childhood friend, Violet Keppel Trefuses who by the way is related to Camilla Parker-Bowles distantly that nearly threatened Vita and Harold's marriage. Marriage is an institution which produced two fine sons. The actress, Janet McTeer, who plays Vita does a superb job and memorable. Violet is played by Cathryn Harrison who I believe is Sir Rex Harrison's daughter or relative. Anyway the acting is sensational and it was quite revolutionary for it's time on television during Masterpiece Theater. Harold and Vita's marriage may have been quite unconventional by it's unusual circumstances but they stayed together. They built Sissinghurst Castle in Kent, England. Vita wrote a beautiful poem about her love for Harold. Now regardless that their union had outside lovers like Violet and Virginia Woolfe. They always returned to each other for comfort, companionship, and conversation. No, this marriage probably wouldn't survive today because there is just too much focus on sex completing a marriage. For those of us who know better, sex does not complete the marriage but enhance it. THe sexual desires of Vita and Harold may have been toward their own sex but they returned to each other every time. A successful marriage is based on being able to turn to the one you love, trust, and need in your most desperate time. Nigel wrote a loving book about his parents' unconventional marriage but he wrote that they still loved each other and returned to each other from their infidelities every time even with Violet Keppel.

caught this British mini-series on classic theatre station and settled in to watch it. liked it so much that i ordered a copy of the series. i admired the writers and director on how they handled the subject matter with intelligence and a matter of fact attitude. i was also surprised at the frankness of the love scenes between the two female leads but than again a lot of British cinema deals openly wih sexuality regardless of gender. i find Janet mcteer who portrayed vita sacke-ville west always gives a remarkable performance now what role she takes on. you can feel the the tortured pain she's going through as the mounting tension grows between her and her husband when he discovers she is having an affair. i thought all the actors gave a brilliant performance and highly recommend this piece of rare cinema.

I have only seen this once and it was an unforgettable experience. This TV series on Masterpiece Theater pulled out all the stops and was an emotionally draining but fantastic and daring in its depth and depiction of homosexuality and all its complications. I would love to see this again.