Shadowlands [VHS]

I only rented this movie because I think Anthony Hopkins is an amazing actor and he didn't let me down.

He plays C.S Lewis, the author of the Narnia books among others. 'Jack' (as his brother calls him) is an ageing university lecturer in Oxford who lives with his equally single brother simply passing the time teaching people literature and belief in God. His life is routine and he is content.

One day he agrees to meet an American woman who is a fan of his work and has been writing him letters which he finds interesting. She asks him questions which provoke thought and isn't afraid to say what she feels/thinks. They develop a strong friendship and love over time only to have their feelings tested in the worst way.

The movie sounds drab when put that way but it unravels at a gentle (some may call it slow!) pace with a wonderful and witty dialog. There are several characters entwined in the background which give the movie more substance and ground work. To top it all off are the beautiful settings in which it is set.

A movie about true love and loss to touch anyones heart strings.

Definitely worth watching.

Ever since Shadowlands came out in 1993 I have been captivated by it. The story of C.S Lewis; writer, academic and bachelor for 50 years who meets and eventually falls in love with American poet Joy Davidman, is a straightforward one. But it is a touching one.

Richard Attenborough has come in for a lot of (unjust) criticism as a director over the years, mainly by those who think his epics reach further than they can grasp. This film, perhaps his smallest, is one of his more applauded.

William Nicholson adapted his stage play for this project and the script maintains the basic love story, with some wisdom thrown in for good measure. Attenborough chose to cast Anthony Hopkins to replace the then "unkown to Americans" Nigel Hawthorn (a studio decision). Hopkins' speciality is restraint - a 'dormant volcano'. It serves the character of Lewis brilliantly here because he is containing love, emotion and feeling. It means that once he opens up towards the end of the film, you see a side of Hopkins that I for one have never seen before or since.

Debra Winger is well cast as the overbearing, uninhibited American Joy Gresham, as is her son Joseph Mazzello (whom Attenborough had previously worked with in Jurassic Park). And Edward Hardwicke is excellent as Lewis's brother, Warnie.

I think the reason this story works for me is that is a metaphor for being English (or was, anyway): the repressed type who won't open up to emotion - is afraid of change, and by the time he does change, it's too late and he feels the pain he so feared in the first place. What I like is the message that, 'it's part of life' and as the film says, "The pain now is part of the happiness then - that's the deal."

The film is 'based' on a true story because there are factual things that are changed for the film - like there being two sons not one, and the fact he was at Cambridge - but these can be overlooked.

The acting is great, the locations are quintessentially English, George Fenton's score is one of my favourites and Attenborough got his biggest recognition since Gandhi.

Unfortunately I look back on the film on this very simple DVD (with 2:35:1 widescreen, 2.0 sound - no extras) with nostalgia for that period. It seemed to be a more innocent and painless existance. But then I guess pain is relative.

I would recommend this film to an audience who have had to suffer the burden of losing someone to a long illness. It has a heart and a central message (which is stated a few times in the film). And hopefully it will appear more predominantly in retrospectives of Attenborough's career in years to come.

I've purposefully mentioned little about the plot because basically it's worth discovering as you go along.

Shadowlands is an old fashioned type of film - and the better for it. And, like Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, it has something to say about the true nature of love and life.

Initially, one might expect this to go down the route of many other "heritage" films but that would be a mistake. Yes, there are great views of Oxford, yes there are many an eccentric and testy don and lofty views from the high table, but this tale of CS Lewis's friendship and love for the American poet Joy Gresham has much more to offer the average Sunday afternoon watcher. What matters here is the acting from a stellar cast led by Anthony Hopkins. His performance is in my view one of the best of his career. His portrayal of the vulnerable Jack, eager to love and not knowing how to deal with this new experience is illicited by Richard Attenborough with great care. The scenes between Hopkins and Winger are permeated with enormous emotion. Shadowlands is the finest piece of work by one of Britain's best cinema storytellers and is always a film I am able to return to without question.