The French Lieutenant's Woman

So I saw this film and I picked it up because of Jeremy Irons who is one of my favorite actors. Plus it had Meryl Streep in it which was good too. This film was made in 1981 and was directed by Karel Reisz and the screenplay was done by Harold Pinter. This movie is a film within a film so sometimes it gets confusing if you don't pay attention. The story revolves around Mike and Anna who are both actors and they are filming a movie entitled the French Lieutenant's Woman. They are lovers both onscreen and off. In the film, that they are making,their characters are Charles and Sarah. The movie they make takes place in the Victorian era. Charles is a biologist who has maried another woman but is in love with Sarah in which he embarks on a love affair. The thing is, she is all melancholy and sad, so that causes problems and they have to keep their relationship hidden. Now cut back to when their actors, Mike and Anna are together but she seems to be down too. Sarah, the character in the film ruins Charles' reputation and at around the same time in the film, Mike finds that he cannot keep up his relationship with Anna. We learn that both Mike and Anna are with someone else. Eventually, Anna cannot keep up her relationship with Mike and she leaves him. Going back to Charles and Sarah, he goes on a long search for her, 3 years because she left him with no note. He finds her three years later because she contacts him and they both forgive each other and there is a happy ending...if only there were a happy ending to Mike and Anna. Mike goes to see Anna at the after party of the movie and when he goes to find her, she has left and they do not say goodbye. This whole cutting between the two love stories can get confusing, especially when trying to understand what is going on in the film. I thought I would give the film a try because it won some Oscar nominations and Jeremy Irons is fantastic and i love almost everything he is in. Check out the HBO special Elizabeth I it is superb and he is great in it. He is a very dynamic actor and in this film he does a great job. I wish that the plot was stronger, as well as the sub-plot. The characters especially Mike and Anna are underdeveloped but I'm glad I watched it although at points it was boring. It probably isn't a film for our generation but, I say hey, give it a go.