Portrait of a Marriage

Women sucking on another womens toes.it's amazing really good very fantastic really enjoyable.--ggvvvbbbbbvvhhgchhhvfdggfcvhfgbhgcgghhggffgghhffhjjvfgghhjjjffhjjhggjjvvhjjjjjjkkjhhbbjjbvb.

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.

This was such a good mini-series that it surprises me that it's never been on again!

Based on the biography by Nigel Nicolson, it tells the true story of the marriage of his parents, Harold Nicolson and the author Vita Sackville-West, who carried on a long-term passionate love affair with Violet Keppel Trefusis. It is an absolutely convincing portrayal of a marriage that, although between two people who found most of their sexual release in homosexual contacts, was a loving partnership that far surpassed many conventional marriages. Janet McTeer is, of course, amazing and the scene between her and Cathryn Harrison (who plays Violet) when their relationship dissolves due to Violet's impending marriage is heart-breaking.

Well worth watching - a very interesting story of an unconventional relationship. Now if only they would show it again!

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.

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.