Orlando (1992) Review

Based on the novel by Virginia Woolf Orlando is a historical fantasy story where the protagonist of the title lives through history from the Elizabethan era to the modern day (in the book this is the 1930’s the film the 1990’s). Orlando also changes from man to woman hallway through the narrative. The plot itself relies on a suspension of disbelief as we know it is not humanly possible to live through so many centuries or change sex in the way it is done in the film/book. However it is clearly a film with much metaphorical meaning as I will explore further.

The concept behind the character of Orlando in the novel was to encapsulate Virginia Woolf’s friend and lover Vita Sackville West’s personality in a character. It is clear in both the book and film Woolf and Potter use many metaphors to convey this. Having Orlando change sex from man to women first infers that Wests personality carried traits of the masculine and feminine at different points. It could also be a method of questioning whether there are differences at how we see the world and the world’s expectations of each gender:  would a man’s experience of love, death or poetry be the same as a woman for example. This quote from Potter explains the reason Orlando changes gender: ‘The change of sex is a result of Orlando reaching a crisis of masculine identity when he is unwilling to conform to what is expected of him as a man. Nor as a woman can Orlando conform’ relating this to Sackville West this is quite possibly a metaphor for her inability to conform to society with her views on love and relationships as it is well known she had a lesbian affair with Woolf whilst married.
When Orlando becomes a woman she says ‘the same in every way just a different sex’; this infers that a man and women can think and feel the same, but look how the world will treat them differently no matter the time period. Building on this theme I found it very profound the way Sasha rebuffs Orlando as a man exclaiming why should she belong to one just because she is adored by that one. As a woman Orlando uses the same argument to her lover in the 1850’s. The film was made in 1992 the height of the women’s liberation movement I feel this concept of opposing ownership is a feminist message.

The film was quite slow and very wordy although I feel it did capture Woolf's wit that makes the book more snappy and engaging. At various points throughout the film Orlando speaks directly to the camera, communicating his/her innermost thoughts to you the viewer, this 'breaking the fourth wall' approach defiantly went some way to capturing Woolf's idiosyncratic way of writing and description and gave the film an experimental feel.

I believe a film like 'Orlando 'is the sort of film you watch and then have to spend some time thinking about in order to understand its meanings. I admit a lot of the time I couldn't help but think it was a very odd film and questioned what its purpose was. However on reflection I feel I how have a better understanding of its message as a metaphorical comment on gender roles and expectations. it is clearly an intelligent, artful film I would definitely watch it again.