Set in pastoral England at the time of the Boer Wars, this 1989 movie co-written and directed by Ken Russell is a prequel to his marvelous 1968 film of "Women in Love," both based on the novels of D.H. Lawrence. Here, Ursula Brangwen is the center of the story: she's a young woman who experiences her sexual awakening with the help of a bisexual female physical education instructor (played by Amanda Donohoe), then falls in love with a soldier. He wants her to marry him, but eventually she realizes her true desires and goes on her merry way. The film also dwells on her attempts to thrive as a teacher in the brutal and primitive schools of the time. There's plenty of erotic content, but somehow this movie is not as memorable as Russell's 1968 near-classic, partly because neither the characters nor the actors are as powerful and compelling. As for the story as a whole, it doesn't show the sort of craziness or invention one expects from the director of "Tommy," "Lisztomania," or "Gothic." The great Glenda Jackson makes an appearance as the mother of the Ursula and Gudrun, the character she played in the earlier film.
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The review of this Movie prepared by David Loftus
