Inferno ou Paraíso

Roeg is always interesting and challenging so I make a point of watching his films even though I don't always like them. This film reminded me of Bad Timing, in the sense that it is a movie about an incompatible couple drawn together for the wrong reasons, their relationship put under duress and under the microscope of a reality they can't escape from, until everything snaps.

He has an obsessive, idealistic fantasy about living on a desert island with a woman, her reasons are never made clear, but they both seem to want the adventure so they ignore their problems during their first few months of their relationship, and embark on the survivalist project. The problems start already on the first day, with his ideals and fantasies getting in the way of real work that needs to be done, and she takes all the wind out of his sails by suddenly denying him any more sex, and nagging him to do more house-wo... I mean island-work.

At least that's the way I see it. Watching this movie, I found myself constantly wondering what's going on in his mind. His mind seems to be a mess, his behaviour is extremely erratic, and everything he does is criticized by her, blatantly chauvinistic to the point of being a caricature, or just wrong. He doesn't feel like a real person. Whereas she can do no wrong, and her emotional needs are explained to death.

And then it dawned on me: This is a one-sided story told only from the woman's side, consisting of rants against a man she doesn't like nor understand, who finds herself in a survivalist adventure that didn't match her romantic ideals.

Imagine my lack of surprise when I looked up the credits and found that this is based on a real-life adventure book written from her point of view.

Another flaw is the lack of realism and changes in their always-displayed nude bodies, Roeg having to insert awkward shots of another emaciated body to convey the idea that they are in bad health. Compare this with Tom Hanks' physical work in his desert island movie.

In summary: I like the idea, I like the acting, I like Roeg's constantly challenging cinematic work and inventive methods of telling a story, but the material this is based on feels fundamentally flawed and biased, with Reed's character making no sense as a result. This is fatal in a character study.

In the latter years of his film career Nicolas Roeg seemed to become a shadow of his former self and seemed to be working under increasingly limited budgets, but even a minor Roeg film is still worth watching.

The film's theme connects with several with his previous films, namely the breakdown in communication between women and men. Whether it is a communication barrier as in Walkabout or here where the two characters are isolated on an island and fail in their efforts to make it a liveable environment. Whether this is a reflection of the director's own views on relationships I cannot say, but, as noted above, it figures into many of his films.

Even if it is not prime Roeg it still has moments of flare that marked his cinematic style. It does play like an adult version of the 1980 film The Blue Lagoon but with more realistic consequences as they squander their food supplies and struggle to adjust to this primitive life. The cinematography is stunning and the early scenes have a lush and vivid quality that slowly begins to fade as their circumstances change and grow more dire. Both Amanda Donahoe and Oliver Reed give exceptionally good performances. This is not among my favourite of his films but I do enjoy watching it every so often.

What a shame that the star of "Women in Love" and "Oliver" should end his days with such trash as this and "House of Usher". He overacts all through the movie. Of course, the plot is somewhat ridiculous but is every man's nightmare, "What if you were castaway on a desert island (by your own choice) with a beautiful woman who wouldn't let you near her?" She's a complete tease but is not portrayed as the villainess she actually is. She makes me, a woman, ashamed of my sex.

He is usually the gentleman, but despite the writing, Oliver shows the desperation of the man who really got screwed (and didn't). Can't waste any more time on this trivia. Oh, yes, I own the movie in case anyone wants it.

This film by Nicolas Roeg builds on the unusual titles of his past career (Don't Look Now; Walkabout; Performance) and adapts Lucy Irvine's book of her real-life experiences as a Girl Friday on a desert island.

Amanda Donohoe reaches career-grabbing perfection as Irvine, the girl who answers an ad from lonely middle-aged businessman Gerald (a multi-faceted role for Oliver Reed) and goes to live with him in the tropical sun for a year. Roeg's film requires Donohoe to appear nude or semi-nude much of the time but it doesn't seem gratuitous. Not surprisingly it helped her gain other roles in the remainder of the decade as a ballsy, sexy siren.

As a two-hander for most of its running time, 'Castaway' depends on the performances of its two leads - they have to be convincing, they have to be compelling, and they have to have chemistry. It isn't a match made in heaven - but as Gerald and Lucy learn to live with each other despite the obvious problems, the viewer is drawn in with them.

Oliver Reed is excellent as Gerald, a complex character who goes from bluster and rage to sweetness and sensitivity. It was something of a comeback role as the first part of the 1980s hadn't given him roles of any great depth to work with (neither did many films after this one), and he does well within the confines of Lucy Irvine's reminiscences.

I particularly like the ending. Fact or fantasy? But it rounds off this atmospheric film beautifully.

Don't be misled by other comments posted here. The original uncensored version of this film shows Amanda Donohoe full frontal completely nude (yes, pubic hair and all). In fact she is fully nude in many, many scenes and with long lingering shots (almost voyeuristic).

She is a very beautiful woman and her nudity made the film far more realistic for 2 reasons. One is that people do often go about nude when there is nobody around, her nudity helped to convincingly portray a sense of isolation. Secondly, as a man I can get a sense of the frustration that Reed has when he sees her walking about and he can't touch.

I feel bad for the people who have seen this movie censored because there is very frequent high level nudity in this film, which means that the censored version would have been cut to ribbons. This may also explain the experience some people had with "short scenes" or "scenes that ended abruptly".

A very good film worth while watching (uncensored).