Orlando

There are few films that are as dependent on a central performance as Sally Potter’s adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s Orlando (1992). Tilda Swinton must persuasively portray the feminine man Orlando, born into wealth and prosperity in the 1600s and 1700s, but then she must maintain that conviction when Orlando becomes a woman in the 1800s-present day, demonstrating each beguiling change with a matter-of-fact expression that adheres to the natural progression of Woolf's novel.

If you were questioning Orlando’s survival through the centuries, it should be noted that the key behind Orlando’s miraculous immortality lies in Elizabeth I’s blessing of him. The manor in which Orlando resides may be his as long as he does not age and wither. And so he does not. Unfortunately, though, that means that those around Orlando, specifically his betrothed, will pass out of view as they wither and Orlando’s eye wanders elsewhere. Yet women will still break his heart, and as Orlando himself notes, such is “the treachery of women!” though this same phrase gets amusingly reversed after the sex transformation.

The ethos behind this film firstly lies in its critique of the financial limitations of women, unable to hold property unless they can bear male children, is particularly scathing, but the tone is lightened by Swinton’s buoyant performance, so that the most contemptuous critiques are delivered with a nonchalant air. Secondarily is the appraisal by the royal court and the poets in the film that man is the greater sex, and that women may be raised atop a pedestal, but that is only because they do not possess the actual cognizance to think for themselves. Thirdly, there is the ease of persuasion of forcing a marriage to be simply because, as Orlando at last realizes, the man “adores you.” As a man, Orlando gets by without any real intellectual cunning, using his prosperity to compensate for a lack of real insight, so it is telling that Orlando’s true intelligence comes only after she has become a woman.

The film is never less than engaging, and the sumptuous design of costumes and scenery make this one of the best costume dramas. Moreover, Orlando has a strong philosophical merit that costume dramas sometimes ignore in favor of a more lighthearted story. Excellent stuff, this.

Orlando: 8.5/10