Shadowlands

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Stephen B Beautiful movie. So deeply moving. Anthony Hopkins is such a powerful actor, he is so skilled in playing the part of such deep thinking and torn character in the throws of a loss of a most cherished love of his life. No doubt the hardest of emotions for us to ever have to deal with. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/02/24 Full Review Blu B I prefer this slightly over The Remains of the Day which is very simliar in tone and setting to this and I feel serves as a great comparison piece. Compared to that one hopkins performance is allowed to show more emotion and when he does it's so powerful. He perfectly balances being restrained but maximizing the emotion perfectly. Debra Winger is amazing in this. Filled with charm, wit, clever zingers, and serving as the relatable anhor in the story in this world of posh academics. All the performances are excellent. Attenbourghs direction is masterful in this with gorgous cinematography, masterful framing and camerawork, and a very memorable setting. The themes explored here are very mature and pwerful along the lines of a movie like Ordinary People. It's a combination of a drama character study and romance and masterfully weaves them together. It doesn't offer easy solutions or summations to the themes explored either but just a really human understanding. This does a great job humanizing Hopkins character a quite a bit more than Remains of the Day for me. It's sad, heartwarming, and very insightful. My only real complaints is the editing is very good but it can be a bit clunky at first setting the story up and introducing Hopkins at first. Same with setting up the romance as well. But exploring it is masterful and the chemistry between the two is amazing and more than makes up for that. The music is really well done but it isn't used that much and not super memorable on its own. It's a slow burn the entire way but riveting to watch as it unfolds. Everyone should give this a try once. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/13/24 Full Review Peter G Author William Nicholson & Richard Attenborough have given the viewer a unique & touching film regarding the unusual, poignant, & absorbing relationship between C.S. Lewis & Joy Gresham which occurred in the autumn (Lewis‘ significant re-awakening season, apparently!) of the writer‘s life. I cannot imagine better casting than Hopkins & Winger in these two roles. They convey a multitude of the varied personal characteristics within these two characters in addition to adding, I suspect, some of themselves as well. That last remark is only based on the little I have noticed about their off screen personalities & remains pure supposition on my part. What Hopkins & Winter have accomplished in their characterizations is to bring to life two immensely interesting human beings that I, anyway, grew quite attached to in the course the film. Having not seen Attenborough's GANDHI prevents me from making any comparisons between it & SHADOWLANDS but the latter is certainly a quality work & perhaps the most moving love story film of the 1990s. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/10/24 Full Review Judy F It's a great movie. Still not streaming, this site says it's on Apple TV, but that's an earlier version from the 80s. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/29/23 Full Review Kowan M The greatest movie I have ever watched when it comes to the subject of love and faith. This is true faith of astounding power and true love astonishingly portrayed by both lead roles: Jack and Joy. They captured my heart, these two people trying to find hope in each other and happiness. Perfect acting by Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger. It has great comedy. The writing is extraordinary. The directing is magnificent. The music is wonderful. A masterpiece of the drama genre. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/13/23 Full Review tim s "Shadowlands" is the unlikely love story of writer and lecturer C.S. Lewis ( Anthony Hopkins ) and American poet Joy Gresham ( Debra Winger ). Late in life, Lewis ( known to his friends as Jack) finds his one and only love after meeting a fan of his Chronicles of Narnia books. Joy and Jack's initial meeting is awkward but developed into a long distance friendship. Jack and his brother, with who he lives, invite Joy and her son to stay with them for Christmas after learning of their arrival in London. During this stay Jack learns of her husbands alcoholism and abuse.  When Joy's marriage finally breaks down, she and her son move permanently from the U.S.A to London in the hope of getting a publishing deal and to begin a new life. Joy and Jack regularly meet up and thus begins a much closer relationship but still only based on friendship and support. Once Joy's divorce is finalised Jack secretly marries her to allow Joy to benefit from British Citizenship. Unfortunately this clinical, genteel approach of C.SL Lewis , due in part to his upbringing and religious faith is shattered by horrific news. What develops is an intense and intimate relationship, way out of Jack's comfort zone, as he realises both he and Joy have fallen in love. Anthony Hopkins is magnificent in the role of C.S.Lewis delivering a versatile and extremely moving performance. This is particularly evident during the final scenes of this true love story which is based on actual events. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Shadowlands

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