On Chesil Beach

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.

Saw this at the London Film Festival. Saoirse Ronan and Billy Howle enter the perilous territory of marriage in a slow, sleek coming-of-age story adapted from Ian McEwan's 2007 novel. I found the cinematography to be superb, the play of colours very well done in accordance to the mood. I wish there had been more development near the end, but the film was sufficiently beguiling to give it a 7/10.

"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-"

Having only watched the trailer once and not acknowledging the existence of its source material, I was going into this pretty open minded. Period romantic dramas are not exactly the reason why I wake up in the morning, nevertheless I came out of the screening feeling rather pleasant. It tells the story of a newly married couple who potentially destroy their marriage due to fears of physical intimate relations. Exploring frigidity is rather rare, particularly for a romance because sex sells apparently, and so I found myself compelled to dive into the psychological reasoning for Florence's lack of sexual endeavours. It's a deceptively rich story which has more to say beneath the surface than it does through the clean direction and excellent acting. Cooke's directorial debut offers a tantalising question: can you love someone without having physical interaction? A surprisingly relatable question. Weighing in on the emotional and tangible levels of love, McEwan (who also wrote the novel) crafts a script comprising of subtle warmth. The kind of lukewarm temperature you would feel when dipping your toes into the sea. At first, it may look like a drama shifting between the most awkward sex scene ever and flashbacks establishing the origins of their relationship, but there's more lurking underneath. It's understated. The non-linear narrative, while slightly contrived, does make the story that little bit more exciting. I appreciate the upkeep for authenticity by actually filming on Chesil Beach in Dorset. Ronan and Howle projected natural chemistry and bounced off each other well, even if the execution of some of the dialogue felt too mechanical. The epilogue however was completely unnecessary and negated the nuanced atmosphere that was created beforehand. The forced melodrama, whilst beautiful to watch, just didn't fit with the complexity of their relationship. So whilst there are some stumbles, it's constructed upon layers of pebbles to create a beautifully acted picturesque romance.

On Chesil Beach: The film opens with Florence (Saoirse Ronan) and Edward (Billy Howle) strolling along the eponymous beach, they have just been married that day. Returning to their hotel room a pair of piss taking waiters insist on hanging around serving the silver service meal. This adds to the couples nervousness as both seem to be inexperienced sexually which apparently wasn't unusual for university graduates in the UK in 1962.

There then follows a series of flashbacks, not in chronological order, as the attempt to consummate the marriage continues. They first met at a CND meeting in Oxford, Edward wandered in literally by accident but it was love at first sight. Not at all corny, you can literally see Cupid's Arrows crossing the room. Florence offers Edward a booklet on the likely results of a H-Bomb hitting Oxford, Edward says it sounds like a good idea.

Florence has a first in Music from Oxford, Edward's first is in History from UCL This makes Florence's mother Violet (Emily Watson) wonder if his parents are from a tradesman background and her factory owner father Geoffrey (Samuel West) is equally snobby albeit in a more restrained manner. Edward's father Lionel (Adrian Scarborough) is an engineer and his mother Marjorie (Anne-Marie Duff) is an artist but suffers from an acquired brain injury and is prone to acting unpredictably.

There is some good acting especially by Anne-Marie Duff but the thespians are hampered by a screenplay which hasn't been fully translated from novel to film, even though novelist Ian McEwan has written the adaptation. The chopped up nature of the flashbacks in this instance also hamper the development of a coherent narrative. This is still a touching story of love blighted by inexperience with some dark secrets also implied in the background. 7/10.