Review of Carrington

Introduction

Yet another day, yet another MGM back catalogue title on DVD. This time round it`s Christopher Hampton`s first film in the director`s chair, Carrington, based on the story of Lytton Strachey (from a biography of him), Dora Carrington, and the people who flitted in and out of their lives.

It won 2 awards at Cannes in 1995, Best Actor for Jonathan Pryce and the Jury Special Prize for Christopher Hampton.

Video

A 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer, which is a bit of a mess at times. There`s a lot of print damage in various scenes, a distinct lack of sharpness in many places, and some very odd looking bits. A bit of a poor effort all round really, and it shows that back catalogue titles are still getting shoved out with little thought.

Audio

A DD2.0 surround soundtrack, which isn`t ultra exciting, although there are a few sound effects that break free from the centre. Dialogue is clean and crisp and everything can be heard just fine. The soundtrack is from Michael Nyman and fits well with this period piece.

Lytton Strachey seems to communicate only in epigrams such as:-

"It isn`t easy remaining calm in the face of excessive praise from The Daily Telegraph."

"There are times when I feel like a character in a play by Moliere"

"If this is dying, then I don`t think much of it"

Features

Just a trailer. Not even the brief featurette from the region 1 disc. Region 2 gets worked over by those lovely studios again.

Conclusion

I thought I was supposed to be watching a film about Lytton Strachey and Dora Carrington, but it seemed more like watching a film about Jonathan Pryce and Emma Thompson. Neither seem to be acting, they just seem to be playing themselves. Maybe that`s a good thing though, since the last time I saw Pryce try to act, he hammed it up in Tomorrow Never Dies.

This is another case of not caring two hoots about the characters on screen, and therefore losing interest in the film. If you`re a Merchant Ivory fan (or similar) then it might tickle your fancy, but I was just bored. The story moves from chapter to chapter in a very regimented fashion.

The DVD is distinctly average, with a messy picture at times, average sound and a distinct lack of extras.

Avoid.