When it was made in 1972 "Lady Caroline Lamb" represented a major project by the British cinema. It was written by Robert Bolt, one of Britain's leading playwrights and screenwriters who had already written the scripts for films like "Lawrence of Arabia", "A Man for All Seasons" and "Dr Zhivago". It starred a major Hollywood star in the shape of Richard Chamberlain and several greats of the British acting profession such as Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson and John Mills. It did very well at the British box office, although it was not the great international success its makers had been hoping for. Yet today it is largely forgotten.
Lady Caroline Lamb was a novelist and one of the leading society figures of Regency Britain, but she is best remembered because of the men in her life. She was the wife of one of the country's leading politicians, William Lamb, who later (as Lord Melbourne) became Prime Minister and, notoriously, the lover of one of the country's leading poets, Lord Byron.
Bolt said that the film was about "the struggle between the romantics of the world and the classicists". Now it is true that the early nineteenth century was the period of what might be called the struggle between classicism and romanticism in the arts, but Bolt was not particularly interested in the contrast between two different artistic movements. He seems to have been using the words "classicism" and "romanticism" as shorthand for two contrasting attitudes towards life, what others might call realism (or cynicism) and idealism. According to Bolt, classicism is an "ignoble view of life", although it keeps society going, whereas romanticism drives life and instigates new ideas. He said that in the film the main representative of the classical world-view is the Duke of Wellington and Lady Caroline herself of the romantic one.
Actually, I felt that the conflict between realistic and idealistic views of the world was much better brought out in some of Bolt's other films, especially "A Man for All Seasons" and "The Mission". In "Lady Caroline Lamb" this idea tends to get lost. Wellington's role in the film is a brief one, and he does not have much to say about political or philosophical ideas, so he never really emerges as the advocate of cynical pragmatism, or of anything else for that matter. As for Lady Caroline, as played by Sarah Miles she comes across not so much as a romantic idealist but as a silly, self-indulgent, social butterfly who destroys herself by her obsessive pursuit of Byron, a pursuit which she keeps going even after he has broken off their relationship and made it quite clear that he wants no more to do with her. She famously called him "mad, bad and dangerous to know", to which he could quite legitimately have replied "Well, it takes one to know one".
Miles has never been my favourite actress, and I felt that the film might have been improved with another actress as Caroline. I don't think that such an actress would have brought out Caroline's supposed "romanticism", but she could have conveyed the glamour and sexual magnetism which the real Caroline Lamb must have had in spades in order to captivate the likes of Lamb and Byron. This is something which Miles, sadly, fails to put across. Miles was, however, married to Bolt (who acted as director as well as scriptwriter), and by all accounts this was a joint project between them, so there was no way that anyone else would have been cast in the role.
Chamberlain has the looks for Byron, but not the charisma. All those knights and dames of the theatre seem wasted inn a series of cameos. For me the best performance came from Jon Finch as the wronged husband William Lamb. (In real life he had his own amours, but these are not mentioned in the film). Regency society was generally indulgent towards adultery, provided that it was kept discreet; both Caroline's mother Lady Bessborough and William's mother Lady Melbourne were unfaithful to their husbands, but were discreet enough to keep their adulteries out of the public eye and thus kept their social respectability. Caroline, completely lacking in discretion, insisted on thrusting her obsession with Byron in the public's face and thereby made herself a public laughing stock. William, portrayed here as a decent, humane and liberal man, would under other circumstances have been prepared to make allowances for his wife, even forgive her, but the extremes to which she went started to make him ridiculous and damaged his political career. He was eventually forced to seek a separation; even so, his career did not really flourish until after Caroline's death in 1828.
This was Bolt's first film as director, and it shows. Pauline Kael said that he "thrashes about from one style and point of view to another". The film was all too obviously put together by an inexperienced tyro; it moves at a glacial pace and would have been improved by being a good deal shorter. Bolt evidently did not enjoy the experience, because it was not only his first film but also his last. It is occasionally visually attractive, but apart from Finch's contribution there is little to recommend it. Perhaps it is not surprising that it has fallen into obscurity. 5/10.
Lady Caroline Lamb was a novelist and one of the leading society figures of Regency Britain, but she is best remembered because of the men in her life. She was the wife of one of the country's leading politicians, William Lamb, who later (as Lord Melbourne) became Prime Minister and, notoriously, the lover of one of the country's leading poets, Lord Byron.
Bolt said that the film was about "the struggle between the romantics of the world and the classicists". Now it is true that the early nineteenth century was the period of what might be called the struggle between classicism and romanticism in the arts, but Bolt was not particularly interested in the contrast between two different artistic movements. He seems to have been using the words "classicism" and "romanticism" as shorthand for two contrasting attitudes towards life, what others might call realism (or cynicism) and idealism. According to Bolt, classicism is an "ignoble view of life", although it keeps society going, whereas romanticism drives life and instigates new ideas. He said that in the film the main representative of the classical world-view is the Duke of Wellington and Lady Caroline herself of the romantic one.
Actually, I felt that the conflict between realistic and idealistic views of the world was much better brought out in some of Bolt's other films, especially "A Man for All Seasons" and "The Mission". In "Lady Caroline Lamb" this idea tends to get lost. Wellington's role in the film is a brief one, and he does not have much to say about political or philosophical ideas, so he never really emerges as the advocate of cynical pragmatism, or of anything else for that matter. As for Lady Caroline, as played by Sarah Miles she comes across not so much as a romantic idealist but as a silly, self-indulgent, social butterfly who destroys herself by her obsessive pursuit of Byron, a pursuit which she keeps going even after he has broken off their relationship and made it quite clear that he wants no more to do with her. She famously called him "mad, bad and dangerous to know", to which he could quite legitimately have replied "Well, it takes one to know one".
Miles has never been my favourite actress, and I felt that the film might have been improved with another actress as Caroline. I don't think that such an actress would have brought out Caroline's supposed "romanticism", but she could have conveyed the glamour and sexual magnetism which the real Caroline Lamb must have had in spades in order to captivate the likes of Lamb and Byron. This is something which Miles, sadly, fails to put across. Miles was, however, married to Bolt (who acted as director as well as scriptwriter), and by all accounts this was a joint project between them, so there was no way that anyone else would have been cast in the role.
Chamberlain has the looks for Byron, but not the charisma. All those knights and dames of the theatre seem wasted inn a series of cameos. For me the best performance came from Jon Finch as the wronged husband William Lamb. (In real life he had his own amours, but these are not mentioned in the film). Regency society was generally indulgent towards adultery, provided that it was kept discreet; both Caroline's mother Lady Bessborough and William's mother Lady Melbourne were unfaithful to their husbands, but were discreet enough to keep their adulteries out of the public eye and thus kept their social respectability. Caroline, completely lacking in discretion, insisted on thrusting her obsession with Byron in the public's face and thereby made herself a public laughing stock. William, portrayed here as a decent, humane and liberal man, would under other circumstances have been prepared to make allowances for his wife, even forgive her, but the extremes to which she went started to make him ridiculous and damaged his political career. He was eventually forced to seek a separation; even so, his career did not really flourish until after Caroline's death in 1828.
This was Bolt's first film as director, and it shows. Pauline Kael said that he "thrashes about from one style and point of view to another". The film was all too obviously put together by an inexperienced tyro; it moves at a glacial pace and would have been improved by being a good deal shorter. Bolt evidently did not enjoy the experience, because it was not only his first film but also his last. It is occasionally visually attractive, but apart from Finch's contribution there is little to recommend it. Perhaps it is not surprising that it has fallen into obscurity. 5/10.