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"Firelight"
Starring:
Sophie Marceau, Stephen Dillane, Dominique Belcourt, Joss Ackland
104 Minutes
Rated R
1997 Hollywood Pictures
(But just released on video)
[APRIL 15, 2000]
My
prediction was that this would be another movie that I would bail
out on after about 10 minutes (if I could stomach it even that
long). It had all the trappings of being another romance drama
(not romantic drama) with a thin plot, pitiful dialogue and
improbable characters. BUT, "Firelight" proved me wrong.
This film depicts England prior to the telephone, electricity or
the automobile, but did not require any modern technology to keep
my interest. The focus of this film was on the magic of the moment
and the value of relationships.
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It
opens with a wealthy English gentleman who seeks, through a local
midwife, to gain the services of a young, healthy, beautiful woman
to bear him a child. Charles (Stephen Dillane) meets with
Elisabeth (Sophie Marceau), a young Swiss woman, and, speaking
through the midwife, they strike a deal without actually seeing
each other. They would meet without the encumbrance of care or
relationship to produce a child, and then part, never to see each
other again.
That
evening, Charles waits for Elisabeth in his room. She enters the
room and they see each other for the first time. Their first
meeting is tenuous at best. Their arranged transaction is
concluded with few words, only cold emotion, and they part. During
their second meeting, they begin to fall in love with each other.
And in their third meeting, they silently affirm their love for
each other. And then they part. Elisabeth stays behind as Charles
returns to his lands and his family.
Some
nine months later Elisabeth gives birth to his child, a perfect
baby girl. The midwives promptly take the child away to be raised
by Charles at his grand estate. Elisabeth receives the arranged
sum of money (a great sum of money), and the introduction fades,
the story begins.
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This
film captivated my senses. At moments there is great magic in the
scenery, the dialogue and the relationships between Elisabeth,
Charles and their love child, Louisa (Dominique Belcourt). This is
one among very few films that are able to actually slow down time
and make you savor selected seconds of the plot.
This
film kept my intellect intact. This was not one of those "park
your mind at the door" kinds of movies. This film started with a
solution without telling you for some time what the problem was. I don’t
want to give much of the plot away, but as you suppose, Elisabeth does
not merely fade away, but spends the next seven years trying to find
her lost child and this man with whom she has fallen in love. This
storyline is complicated (but not over-stressed), and I felt as though
I were a bystander watching their great grief as they sought to
resolve their problems and remove the barriers that separated them.
Finally,
I believe this is a romance film that even men can watch and enjoy.
There
is some partial nudity during the non-explicit
"child-producing" scenes (you can edit those out with the
remote). There is some strong language in this film, and also a murder
(of sorts). This is not a film for children or teenagers, but rather a
film which I believe is aimed at adult couples. But be aware, there is
probably only one copy of this film at your local video store.
I
enjoyed it, watched the whole thing, and rate it 3½ stars (out of 5).
[midge]
Anyone
reading LDN movie reviews at all? Let me know with an email to midge@lincolndailynews.com.
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