Word: orlandos
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Based on a novel by Virginia Woolf, "Orlando" has all the pieces needed for a movie destined to be an award winner, or at least a cult classic. There is cinematography that comes close to a quality novel's description, acting with extreme depth and dry, campy humor meant to shock as well as entertain...
...story is a trip through time by Orlando, exquisitely played by Swinton. Starting in 1600 with the subject Death, Orlando experiences 'Love,' 'Poetry,' 'Politics', 'Sex' and 'Birth' in front of our eyes. Orlando falls in love with a Muscovite, sees an early Shakespeare production, travels to the mysterious East, begins to write poetry and hobnobs with some of the more famous writers of the past...
...Orlando is not without secrets, however. Although played by a woman, the character begins as a man accompanied by clever narration meant to create a suspension of disbelief. Though a glance is enough to see through this, as the story progresses it gets easier and easier to see Swinton as a man. Just when this happens, however, Orlando wakes up one morning to discover that he has become a woman. Addressing the audience, Orlando explains things by simply saying, "Just a different sex, nothing else changed...
These avant-grade exercises become the heart of the movie from the beginning when a firm introductory narration is broken by Orlando talking directly to the audience. Swinton creates an intimate connection with the audience by addressing the camera directly usually as part of a joke. By the end, all she has to do is make a quick flash with her oversized eyes to cause smirks and halting laughter...
...distracted and miss the peculiar role. Sally Potter gives sex in the movie. Only rarely can one ever be sure whether the character on screen is male or female. The lyrics to the mystical soundtrack are always soprano and a male singer is always, displayed. The ancient queen Orlando befriends, Elizabeth I, is played by a male actor. This makes a bedroom scene so hilarious that it is almost disturbing...