Darling

Rating:
Summary: Princess Diana
Review: "Darling" is a searing look into the shallow life of a London girl during the mid-60's. It stars Julie Christie in the title role of Diana Scott and takes us through a few years of her life from mod-model to wife of an Italian prince. Dianna's messy life and total disregard for others is brilliantly shown through the convention of her telling "My Story" to a magazine while contrasting her tale with the actual facts of her life.
Co-stars Dirk Bogarde, Laurence Harvey each serves the story in their unique and gifted ways. Bogarde as Robert Gold is Diana's one brush with real emotion and possible salvation is at the top of his form giving yet another fine performance in support of Miss Christie. Laurence Harvey is cold and calculating as the bored playboy Miles Brand. He has never been better or has his angular face been shown to be more sardonic and deceitful than here in this film.
The direction by John Schlesinger is razor sharp and never misses the truth behind each scene. Cinematographer Kenneth Higgins captures the feel of mid-60's London, Pairs and Italy in crisp and clean shots. His close-ups are nearly surgical in what they render visible to the eye.
John Dankworth executed the composition of one of the most haunting themes from the sixties, which plays over the brilliant opening credits. His score is perfect and underscores Diana's story so well.
Finally there is Julie Christie in her Oscar winning performance. What a revelation this film and Miss Christie were at the time. Movies were changing so rapidly from what they had been all along to a more adult and honest look at life. The cracks began to appear after WW II. They widened in the 1950's but by the time "Darling' came along the movie industry had changed, imploded then exploded into a new and freer form of expression. Riding this wave to triumph in 1965 was the nearly unknown Miss Christie. Her Diana is unapologetic, raw and wonderful. She never holds back in showing us the ugly side of this beautiful vacuous woman and by the last scene she commands the screen with the authority of a truly perfect performance.

Rating:
Summary: Deserves SIX stars!
Review: Darling is like nothing you would see today, this is largely due to its maturity. It is a 'grown-up' film made by adults, about adults for an adult audience.

It is the tale of a very good looking young woman who rides with the wave that her good looks take her on.

Diana Scott (Christie) starts out a care-free young thing, swinging along the streets of mid-sixties London when she is stopped by a reporter and asked if she'd like to make a comment about 'today's youth' for a magazine TV programme. She is so flattered that she falls for the reporter who swiftly leaves his wife for her.

But after a while Julie gets bored and wants to expeience more of what this brave new sixties world has to offer & we the audience travel along with her for the journey...from model to film star to finally capturing the eye of an Italian prince who marries her.She becomes Princess Diana trapped in a palace with only her misery for company.

Julie Christie's character is supposed to be an immoral girl but you can't help but like her. Watching this film is like going on a journey through someone else's life to such a degree that you will forget your own after a while as you follow her around from Paris to Italy,through her various flings,friendships & encounters.No special effects here,Darling is about people. People living in the 'contemporary' world.

The film has dated 'terribly'...that's part of its fascination. It's a mid-sixties time capsule. If you are a fan of or are at all interested in 'sixties London buy this with confidence. It is a privilege to be be able to recommend it to you.

Darling is a witty film. Intelligently made. Superbly shot & edited. I would recommend it to anyone who is studying film, so fluently & deftly is this masterpiece put together.

Filmed in Black & White...not only does Julie Christie look stunning but she rises to every note. She well deserved her Oscar for best actress in 1966.

This is a movie that would interest & entertain even the people who usually would not be drawn to this kind of a theme.

Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: When Julie Christie was good, she was very good...
Review: Darling is one of the best films of the 1960's, with its sharp direction, even sharper script, atmospheric black and white photography, and three outstanding star performances. The style of the film may seem somewhat dated, but its substance still packs a considerable punch.

The film involves its audience with genuine appeal to our emotions and intellect, rather than in the manipulative manner of many more modern movies. Darling makes us think and challenges us to feel. Although very much a reflection of its time, Darling still has very much to say to us today. It is sad, therefore, that some of those involved in its making tend to distance themselves from it now. Maybe their subsequent careers have made them resemble the film's targets more than its protagonists. If nothing else, Darling is populated by real people - some of whom are sometimes uncomfortably realistic.

It is perhaps difficult to realise now how shocking a character Julie Christie was portraying at the time - in those uptight days when free love and liberated women were only just beginning to surface into public awareness. The audience was asked to feel sympathy for this middle class girl who bed-hopped her way from model to princess with barely a hint of conscience. Perhaps she was intended to be another British anti-hero - a female cousin of Jimmy Porter, Joe Lampton or Arthur Seaton. Or maybe she was the prophetic face of the future - the sixties symbol that everything was changing. Whatever the intention, the character of Diana Scott made a definite impact, both on the men in her life and on the audiences who watched her with a mixture of fascination, disbelief, and quite possibly a touch of envy.

The film's solid foundation - some might say its heart and soul - lies in the wordly wise and wickedly witty script by Frederic Raphael. His characters are equally blessed with sarcasm and faults - they all have a knack for delivering wonderful one-liners in moments of crisis. Example - When Dirk Bogarde parts for the last time from Christie, he tells her that he intends to write a book about his life. Christie says that she played the biggest part in his life. Bogarde raises an eyebrow and replies quietly: "Certainly the most melodramatic".

It is precisely this contrast between Christie's emotional rollercoaster and Bogarde's coolly calculated underplaying that provides most of the film's best moments. Although Laurence Harvey also makes a significant contribution. I have always felt that Harvey was a seriously under-rated actor and here he proves just how effective he could be. Christies may have been the romantic face of a changing Britain, but Harvey was the realistic symbol of how things really worked - of the British obsession with class, appearance, self-interest and hyprocrisy that still exists today. It says much for Dirk Bogarde that he gives the best performance while playing the least believable character. Stranger still, that Gregory Peck was once considered for the role.

If I have gone on about the stars more than the direction or music or anything like that, it is because this is essentially a film about people. The plot is not so much about what happens to them but how these events affect and change them. The camerawork is occasionally flashy but never intrusive. Sometimes the film looks almost like a documentary, an illusion helped by a first-rate supporting cast. But, more than anything else, this is Julie Christie's film - she is as faultless as she is natural. She won an Oscar for playing Diane Scott. But Darling deserves more than awards - it deserves to be seen.

Rating:
Summary: Cinematic Princess Diana=Real life Princess Grace?
Review: Fascinating film full of irony and symbolism about a beautiful and amoral young woman who attains fame and fortune at the expense of personal happiness and fulfillment. As I watched this I couldn't help but to have the uncanny feeling that this story was in part inspired by Grace Kelly, not only by the model-turned actress-turned princess parallel, but also since it's known now that her fairy-tale existence perhaps wasn't a particularly happy one. The ususually beautiful Julie Christie stars in a tailor-made role as Diana Scott, an ordinary English girl with extraordinary looks who loses her way as she gets swept up in the decadent 60's Mod Lifestyle in Swinging London in her determined quest to make it to the top, and ends up a miserable tropy wife stuck in an empty existence. From the film's very beginning irony and symbolism abounds concerning society's warped worship of superficialities over substance and soul--the intriguing opening scene consists of a world hunger billboard with disturbing images of gaunt, poverty-stricken children from third-world countries being papered over by a glossy poster of the "Ideal Woman" magazine cover consisting of an opulent, smiling, becrowned Diana. The movie then goes into a sort of pseudo-documentary mode covering the events leading to this billboard fame and we discover this "ideal woman" is not a happy one since she's always looking for something more, something better, and in her haphazard journey forsakes her chance at true happiness. A 20-year old Diana, a married aspiring model, figuratively strikes gold when picked off the street for a newsmagazine interview by TV reporter Robert Gold, a cerebral young married father and quasi-celebrity, superbly played by Dirk Bogarde with his soulful, haunted face and introspective demeanor. They have a serious affair and set up house despite their respective spouses, and Robert expands her bourgeois circle by introducing her to famous intellects.

Looking for greener pastures, she takes up with Laurence Harvey, perfectly cast (aside from perhaps fellow Brit Terence Stamp) with his cold roguish handsomeness and exuding cool charm and decadent sexuality as slick PR mogul/superagent Miles Brand, an apt name since he makes her a famous "brand" name as a model-actress. Like Robert, he further expands her horizons, but instead of intellects he introduces her to the la dolce vita bohemian crowd of gays, lesbians, cross-dressers, kinky celebs, assorted oddballs and orgies. In another example of striking irony, the appropriately golden-haired, blue-eyed, sunny-looking Diana gets a big-time product gig as the "Happiness" girl at a time of heartbreak when long-suffering Robert has enough of her lies and cheating. She then finds platonic solace in her first real tranquil and fulfilling relationship during a blissful stay at breathtaking Capri, but ironically it's with her gay photographer and ends when he "betrays" her with another man. At Capri things get surreal as "art" imitates "life" when Diana films a commercial dressed as a fairy-tale princess and meets a handsome real-life Italian prince who makes her his wife. So now the world-famous Princess Diana is the envy of all around living the high life with her face plastered on billboards as the "Ideal Woman," but behind the fairy-tale facade is an utterly empty, totally unhappy person trapped in a gilded cage of her own creation when she unfortunately realizes too little, too late that Robert was the man for her and truly was "gold." A captivating character study about an individual's skewed priorities, wrong choices that can never be undone, and impossible dreams coming true as well as an acerbic social commentary on society's idolatry toward the false gods of image, money and celebrity, as well as the unrealistic, superficial expectations women feel compelled to live up to as demonstrated ingeniously in the movie's use of ads and the brilliant charity auction scene (which, besides mocking society's hypocrisy and false values, shows Diana and another woman both coldly and silently sizing each other up--two beauties evaluating the competition). This movie is like a cinematic time capsule since it's oh-so-sixties, but still seems modern and relevant to this day because of these timeless, classic themes and mature handling of the material, which included then-cutting edge matters such as gays/lesbians, oral sex (implied in the bedroom scene where Harvey pulls the bedsheet away from Christie), promiscuity and abortion in a nonlurid and unjudgemental fashion--except to say perhaps that earthly pleasures is no substitute for true love and spiritual fulfillment. In the end "Darling" proves to be a prophetic title since this film made Christie a darling of the academy and world cinema when she went on to deservedly win the best actress award and attained international fame!

Rating:
Summary: Cinematic Princess Diana=Real life Princess Grace?
Review: Fascinating film full of irony and symbolism about a beautiful and amoral young woman who attains fame and fortune at the expense of personal happiness and fulfillment. As I watched this I couldn't help but to have the uncanny feeling that this story was in part inspired by Grace Kelly, not only by the model-turned actress-turned princess parallel, but also since it's known now that her fairy-tale existence perhaps wasn't a particularly happy one. The ususually beautiful Julie Christie stars in a tailor-made role as Diana Scott, an ordinary English girl with extraordinary looks who loses her way as she gets swept up in the decadent 60's Mod Lifestyle in Swinging London in her determined quest to make it to the top, and ends up a miserable tropy wife stuck in an empty existence. From the film's very beginning irony and symbolism abounds concerning society's warped worship of superficialities over substance and soul--the intriguing opening scene consists of a world hunger billboard with disturbing images of gaunt, poverty-stricken children from third-world countries being papered over by a glossy poster of the "Ideal Woman" magazine cover consisting of an opulent, smiling, becrowned Diana. The movie then goes into a sort of pseudo-documentary mode covering the events leading to this billboard fame and we discover this "ideal woman" is not a happy one since she's always looking for something more, something better, and in her haphazard journey forsakes her chance at true happiness. A 20-year old Diana, a married aspiring model, figuratively strikes gold when picked off the street for a newsmagazine interview by TV reporter Robert Gold, a cerebral young married father and quasi-celebrity, superbly played by Dirk Bogarde with his soulful, haunted face and introspective demeanor. They have a serious affair and set up house despite their respective spouses, and Robert expands her bourgeois circle by introducing her to famous intellects.

Looking for greener pastures, she takes up with Laurence Harvey, perfectly cast (aside from perhaps fellow Brit Terence Stamp) with his cold roguish handsomeness and exuding cool charm and decadent sexuality as slick PR mogul/superagent Miles Brand, an apt name since he makes her a famous "brand" name as a model-actress. Like Robert, he further expands her horizons, but instead of intellects he introduces her to the la dolce vita bohemian crowd of gays, lesbians, cross-dressers, kinky celebs, assorted oddballs and orgies. In another example of striking irony, the appropriately golden-haired, blue-eyed, sunny-looking Diana gets a big-time product gig as the "Happiness" girl at a time of heartbreak when long-suffering Robert has enough of her lies and cheating. She then finds platonic solace in her first real tranquil and fulfilling relationship during a blissful stay at breathtaking Capri, but ironically it's with her gay photographer and ends when he "betrays" her with another man. At Capri things get surreal as "art" imitates "life" when Diana films a commercial dressed as a fairy-tale princess and meets a handsome real-life Italian prince who makes her his wife. So now the world-famous Princess Diana is the envy of all around living the high life with her face plastered on billboards as the "Ideal Woman," but behind the fairy-tale facade is an utterly empty, totally unhappy person trapped in a gilded cage of her own creation when she unfortunately realizes too little, too late that Robert was the man for her and truly was "gold." A captivating character study about an individual's skewed priorities, wrong choices that can never be undone, and impossible dreams coming true as well as an acerbic social commentary on society's idolatry toward the false gods of image, money and celebrity, as well as the unrealistic, superficial expectations women feel compelled to live up to as demonstrated ingeniously in the movie's use of ads and the brilliant charity auction scene (which, besides mocking society's hypocrisy and false values, shows Diana and another woman both coldly and silently sizing each other up--two beauties evaluating the competition). This movie is like a cinematic time capsule since it's oh-so-sixties, but still seems modern and relevant to this day because of these timeless, classic themes and mature handling of the material, which included then-cutting edge matters such as gays/lesbians, oral sex (implied in the bedroom scene where Harvey pulls the bedsheet away from Christie), promiscuity and abortion in a nonlurid and unjudgemental fashion--except to say perhaps that earthly pleasures is no substitute for true love and spiritual fulfillment. In the end "Darling" proves to be a prophetic title since this film made Christie a darling of the academy and world cinema when she went on to deservedly win the best actress award and attained international fame!

Rating:
Summary: Stylish, Yet Poignant
Review: Her name isn't Darling, but that's what they call her. She doesn't mind, just as long as they call her--men, that is--for dates, for jobs, whatever. John Schlesinger's second film with Julie Christie (after her notable cameo as Tom Courtenay's dream girl in Billy Liar) put them both on the map--and won Christie the Oscar as social-climbing model/actress, Diana Scott. It's a stylish, yet poignant tale (also deservedly snagging an Oscar for best costume design); of its time, yet timeless--and the parallels between Diana and real life royals, Princesses Grace and that other Diana only add to the poignancy. Christie's brilliance aside, the contributions of Dirk Bogarde (The Servant) and Laurence Harvey (The Manchurian Candidate)--two other leading lights of swinging sixties British cinema--should not be overlooked. Harvey has rarely been more cool and callous, Bogarde rarely more vulnerable and human. Diana uses one man and is used by the other, only to give up her playgirl lifestyle for something brighter, shinier--and altogether emptier. Darling represents the peak of the Schlesinger-Christie pairings and is one of the finest films of the 1960s.

Rating:
Summary: Stylish, Yet Poignant
Review: Her name isn't Darling, but that's what they call her. She doesn't mind, just as long as they call her--men, that is--for dates, for jobs, whatever. John Schlesinger's second film with Julie Christie (after her notable cameo as Tom Courtenay's dream girl in Billy Liar) put them both on the map--and won Christie the Oscar as social-climbing model/actress, Diana Scott. It's a stylish, yet poignant tale (also deservedly snagging an Oscar for best costume design); of its time, yet timeless--and the parallels between Diana and real life royals, Princesses Grace and that other Diana only add to the poignancy. Christie's brilliance aside, the contributions of Dirk Bogarde (The Servant) and Laurence Harvey (The Manchurian Candidate)--two other leading lights of swinging sixties British cinema--should not be overlooked. Harvey has rarely been more cool and callous, Bogarde rarely more vulnerable and human. Diana uses one man and is used by the other, only to give up her playgirl lifestyle for something brighter, shinier--and altogether emptier. Darling represents the peak of the Schlesinger-Christie pairings and is one of the finest films of the 1960s.

Rating:
Summary: Intriguing Film from 60's England
Review: I have never particularly been a Julie Christie fan. There's no denying that she is beautiful and talented, but there is something about her that has always left me cold. In "Dr. Zhivago", I never understood why Yuri left Tonya for her Lara. In this film, however, she seems perfectly cast as the social climbing model who will do anything and use anyone to get to the next level. She even engenders some sympathy for her character when she attains her "dream" and it's not all that it's cracked up to be. The reason she probably won the Oscar for this performance is that she made an essentially unsympathetic character somewhat bearable. Not to be overlooked is Dirk Bogarde's sympathetic portrayal as the writer who Christie's Diana uses on her way to the top but who inevitably gets the last laugh on her. One thing that struck me was how sexually provocative this film was considering it was made in 1965.

Rating:
Summary: JULIE CHRISTIE IS LUMINOUS
Review: I've said before I would pay to watch her sew a sweater, and I would. Aside frm "Don't Look Now," this is my favorite Christie movie and my second favorite Schlesinger outing.

"Darling" in ways is a sad, sad tale: it mourns the absence of an inner life in a narcissist, and not an evil one, mind you, just a personality swept away in her own lush dream, and clueless in the end as to why she is alone,alone,alone.

Rating:
Summary: JULIE BEFORE THE DOCTOR IN RUSSIA
Review: JULIE CHRISTIE became the most famous of the so-called ENGLISH birds of the sixties, and this film made her a star and justifully so.This film is a prime example of how a movie can reflects its time, even if by today's standard we have becomed so accustumed to cynicism in movies that it seems it doesn't reach us anymore.In 1965 ,this tone was something new.JULIE then starred in other movies like DOCTOR ZHIVAGO,FAHRENHEIT 451,FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD AND PETULIA ,easily one of the strangest movie of the sixties.JULIE was a wonderful romantic heroine.