Priest of Love

I remember this movie very well from 23 years ago. It came out at the same time as did REDS, which is coming out in DVD soon. Why not Priest of Love? The film details D.H. Lawrence's stand against World War I, his stormy relationship with his wife Frieda, his conflict with the authorities, his bisexual leanings. Ian McKellan is excellent, as is his co-star, Janet Suzman, as Frieda. In many ways, D.H. Lawrence was a powerful forerunner of that great prodigal student of Freud, Wilhelm Reich, with his writings on human sexuality and its fundamental importance to our psychology. This is truly a great movie, well photographed, from what I remember, dealing with still controversial, relevant topics for today.

"Priest of Love" is a biopic about author D. H. Lawrence and his wife, Frieda. It follows them from World War I to his death in 1930.

"Priest of Love" is a rather superficial and dull biography. While D. H. Lawrence's work was very controversial in its day and resulted in some well publicized book burnings and his personal life was weird (to say the least), this film never piqued my interest. Perhaps it was the flat performances by the leads or the script. Perhaps it was because Lawrence wasn't a man whose life I would want to emulate. However, I think the main problem is that the life of Lawrence would best be summed up in a mini-series and condensing about twenty years of his life into a film is a tall order. So, because so much time passes, it comes off more like a Cliff Notes version of his exploits. My recommendation is that you instead read up on Lawrence and his life...you'll learn more and it won't be so dreadfully lifeless as this movie.

I must say, this poignant drama about one of the greatest authors/poets, filled with wonderful, top shelf actors rmade my movie night. POL is an engaging if engrossing drama, which recounts the banning of DH Lawrence's books, and paintings, which at the time, went against what was acceptable, where Lawrence's work was sort of pushing, pornographic boundaries, which today, would be seen in a much more normal light. It's opening sees the grand trashing of one of his awesome sellers, by authority. DH Lawrence was the guy responsible for the notorious and raunchy Lady Chatterly's lover, which Lawrence based on his older wife, who on impulse, just took off with him, leaving her three children and hubby. The story is a little bit patchy, but really, it's the awesome actors which take away from that, and the story is an interesting journey of a liternary geniius. There are some wonderfully shot locations, villa's where Lawrence spent time, while his cancerous health deteriorated, where on occassions he was coughing up phlegm and blood, one scene, quite alertiing. You can't go wrong when you have actors of McKellen's, Suzman's, Gardener's, Keith's stature. Their all A1, there's actually no real competition, as they're just all perfect here, as is the less shown Gielgud, a police seargeant, who banished and seized Lawrence's works, where one gets the impression, there's a more personal attack, grudge. I actually found it hard to believe Gielgud's character's earlier profession, as he seemed much different. Keith, who once was the ambassador for the Continental soup ads in the 80's, as was the great Robert Morley, is just a delight as a sort of, floozie tag along wirth DH Lawrence and wifie. Her character was probably my favorite, in some ways, sad, and pitiful. I really liked this close trio, living for today, not tomorrow. Lawrence had some pretty violent moodswings, his anger exploding out of nowhere, where mostly, it was physically transferred on older wifie, Suzman. Some scenes, which you can see in the prieview, use that special atmospheric which truly gives meaning to the scenes. Trivia note- another of Lawrence's trashed books, Kangaroo, which we see as another hit for the author here, became an Aussie film, with Colin Friels, but sadly cinema wise, made more of a thud. Great period piece film for 1981, I suggest, you see POL. It might just entice you.

My review was written in August 1981 after a screening (of the original version) in Times Square: Christopher Miles's "Priest of Love" is an impressively mounted and acted biopic dealing with the latter years in the life of author D. H. Lawrence. Reunited with screenwriter Alan Plater who wrote his filmization of Lawrence's "The Virgin and the Gypsy", Miles takes a somewhat removed and cool look at his subject, with emphasis on accuracy over emotional involvement making the pic a tough sell beyond its natural art house market.

Picture opens in 1924 with Lawrence (Ian McKellen), wife Frieda (Janet Suzman) and their friend Dorothy Brett (Penelope Keith) en route to Taos, New Mexico, for a self-imposed exile at the house of art patroness Mabel Doge Luhan (Ava Gardner). Back in Britain his books have been banned by the censor, Herbert Muskett (an effectively stern cameo by John Gielgud).

In a typical scene, Lawrence becomes irrational at a party and out of control, slaps Frieda around violently and breaks all the dishes, causing a speedy departure from Taos. Also characteristic is couple's unsympathetic decision to send Dorothy away. Amongst flashbacks detailing economically Lawrence's youth in Cornwall, Miles emphasizes the duo's sojourn in Italy at a villa in Florence provided by a new patron, Angelo Ravagli (Maurizio Merli). Lawrence writes "Lady Chatterley's Lover" there, with impressive care for detail in footage shot at the same Italian printing press where the book was first printed.

Key scenes involve the fearless duo pushing relentlessly for the truth in a sexual manifesto in literature (establishing Frieda as D. H.'s literary collaborator) and tasteful scenes indicating his bisexuality (with a youth nude bathing at an Italian seashore), plus relentless selfishness in inviting Dorothy to bed and then spurning her suddenly.

Dominated by pastoral landscape photography, pic lacks a dramatic edge, with D. H.'s battle from afar with the censor and his impending death by tuberculosis carrying little impact. Coda has Rapagli replacing the deceased Lawrence in Frieda's life and a happy ending for the life-loving survivors, whose joyous celebrations comically extend to absent-mindedly leaving Lawrence's coffin behind at the train station.

Director Miles and actor McKellen create a Lawrence who engages one's intellectual sympathy and is an arresting multi-dimensional figure (even given to an hilarious Gielgud impersonation mocking the censor), but whose selfishness and physical manhandling of Frieda clearly cut off a viewer's emotional support for the character. Too infrequently seen in films, McKellen gives a bravura performance, all the more remarkable for its avoidance of easy empathy. Veteran of a one-woman show on stage as Frieda, Janet Suzman is given her head by Miles and turns in a flamboyant, explosive turn which prevents the film from being dominated by McKellen.

Supporting cast is well-chosen with Ava Gardner looking great and utterly convincing in her best role in years as duo's free-spirited American connection. British comedienne Penelope Keith is the spitting image of her real-life counterpart, but Miles has not curbed her natural comic bent in what should be a straight role. Amongst minor players, Mexican matinee idol Jorge Rivero is well-used as Gardner's sexy young husband, while Italian singer/heartthrob Massimo Ranieri is similarly appropriate as a virile young stud.

Working with stunning locations, Miles and lighting cameraman Ted Moore produce a series of spectacular deep-focus compositions, and wisely present the flashback material in sharp, luminous visuals rather than the cliche of soft-focus. Although Miles adopts a stately pace, he and editor Paul Davies use quick cutaways at the emotional highpoints of scenes, a device which acts to distance the audience from the characters. Joseph James' romantic musical score is good.

This concentrates on the last few years of D.H. Lawrence's life and, in particular, on his relationship with his wife Frieda. Lawrence's book "The Rainbow" was banned in 1915 for obscenity. That and the fact that Frieda was a German aristocrat exacerbated the scrutiny the Lawrences experienced in WWI Britain, ultimately having them being accused of spying for the Germans. After suffering the harassment in England the Lawrences left the country to began a self-imposed exile that took them to about a dozen countries. The movie collapses their peripatetic lifestyle to sojourns in the United States, Mexico, Italy, England, and France.

After leaving England the movie has the Lawrences landing in Taos, New Mexico where they were closely associated with the wealthy patron of the arts Mabel Dodge Luhan and the artist Dorothy Brett. In exchange for the original text of "Sons and Lovers" Dodge gave them a 160 acre ranch outside of Taos--a ranch that is now known as the Lawrence Ranch. The British artist Dorothy Brett lived on the ranch with the Lawrences, in a separate dwelling. Here is where the weakness of the movie started to become apparent to me and that is the lack of motivation for behavior. What was the basis of the Lawrence's relationship with Brett that resulted in their being close enough to come to the United States together and live on the same ranch.

The motivations for the various moves from country to country are not well established and the transitions are confusingly abrupt. Maybe what prompted the moves were no more than whims, but without any notice the Lawrences were all of the sudden in some place in Mexico, or some place in Italy, or some other place in Italy, on in Capri, or France. The same goes for the people in their lives. How did they ever get to know Mabel Dodge, or any of the other famous people that drifted in and out of their lives? There was no identification of these people beyond sometimes being given their names. For example, while in England we see the Lawrences socializing with John Middleton Murry and his paramour Katherine Mansfield, the latter not even being identified. People would suddenly appear, taking me some time to figure out who they were, like Lawrence's sister Ada. There were scenes that had Aldous Huxley visiting the Lawrences in Italy with the primary interaction between Huxley and Lawrence being over Huxley's painting an external wall lamp. Surely some relevant dialog could have been inserted there.

Ian McKellen gives a good performance as Lawrence, but even at that we get only a hint of an understanding of this complex man--I think I came away with a better understanding of Frieda than of her husband. We get only a hint of Lawrence's homosexual tendencies from an early scene that has him frolicking naked on the beach with a young friend. Dorothy Brett is portrayed as being a grinning simpleton. For her to have been a close friend to the Lawrences, surely there was more to the woman than what we see here.

Of course time is devoted to the writing and publication of "Lady Chatterley's Lover." The music accompanying these scenes is so irritatingly over the top, I suppose to emphasize the significance, that it would be more suitable for Henry's victory at Agincourt.

Some time is spent on Lawrence's efforts at painting in his last years, with the paintings in his exhibition in London being seized and the show closed down. Some of these paintings can now be seen at the La Fonda hotel in Taos. If you ever have a chance to see them, you will be convinced that it was best for Lawrence to devote his talents to writing. To call them erotic paintings, at least at this late date, is more than an overstatement.

I suppose this movie broke some ground as being a major commercial movie that had full frontal male nudity and, as McKellen notes with pleasure in his interview on the extras, it is the first commercial movie to portray an erect penis, albeit as a shadow on a wall.

I saw this in its original release in 1981 and have looked forward to seeing it again on DVD. The "director's cut" now on DVD has been edited from the original 125 minutes to 99 minutes. My memory is not good enough to remember exactly what was cut (I do remember a scene involving Lawrence's ashes that is no longer there), but what remains on the DVD I think is more disjointed and confusing than what was in the original. The cutting is puzzling, getting at an understanding of this complicated man demands a longer movie rather than shorter.

Perhaps the most positive result of seeing this movie would be to encourage you to read Lawrence's writings.