[4]

Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons star in dual roles, as Victorian lovers and the actors portraying them in a film production. The parallel storylines are a tedious gimmick. We’re told half way through the movie that in one story, the lovers will get together and in the other, they won’t. Problem is, I don’t give shit about the characters in either storyline. I love Streep and Irons to pieces, but they’re playing the same stuffy, costumey, classist, ill-fated love affair we’ve seen a billion times. It would help if the characters were interesting or compelling. Streep’s character is such a coy deceiver that I lost patience with her by the half-way point, and Irons’ character seems to be led by nothing more than his prick. I may not be impressed, but the Academy was. The film was nominated for best actress (Streep), art direction, costumes, editing, and adapted screenplay (by Harold Pinter).