PRIEST OF LOVE

Filmed in England, France, New Mexico, Mexico, and the Florentine villa where “Lady Chatterley's Lover” was written, PRIEST OF LOVE stunningly reproduces the milieu in which the controversial author D.H. Lawrence and his wife Frieda's love story unfolded. Director Christopher Miles, who also filmed Lawrence's “The Virgin and the Gypsy” in 1970, chose his cast with attention to physical resemblance as well as dramatic skills. Ian McKellen (who recently won a Tony Award for “Amadeus”) gives a superb, multifaceted performance in the title role, complemented by Janet Suzman's interpretation of Frieda. The emphasis is on the stormy, but devoted passion of an extraordinary couple who personified decadence in the disapproving view of the moralists of the time. Lawrence's battles with censorship, tuberculosis and his explosive temperament are intertwined with scenes exhibiting the varied relationships the author had with celebrated people, as well as a tasteful depiction of his bisexuality. PRIEST OF LOVE brings to life the genius E.M. Forster praised as “the greatest imaginative novelist of our generation.” “. . . a beautifully conceived and designed re-creation of literary history seen from a sophisticated and balanced perspective, touched with a humor and irony that are rare and refreshing for the genre.” – Judith Crist, Saturday Review