In 1600, nobleman Orlando inherits his parents' house, thanks to Queen Elizabeth I, who commands the young man to never change. The film follows him as he moves through several centuries of British history, experiencing a variety of lives and relationships along the way, and even changing sex.
Unlike anything onscreen this month or this year, Orlando is serious, provocative and sometimes funny fare. Novelist Virginia Woolf might well be pleased.
See Orlando for its fabulous costumes, fascinating look at changing eras, and impressive performance by Tilda Swinton. Viewing this film for other reasons will almost certainly lead to a negative impression.
Credit where credit is due: Potter more or less successfully converted a crazy, overflowing tome into something simple and attractive.
Seattle Times
March 23, 2015
Reminiscent of the low-budget lushness of the early films of Peter Greenaway and Ken Russell, Orlando could turn out to be the art-house smash of the summer.
Potter possesses a natural gracefulness in presentation that helps a little but, finally, not nearly enough. Orlando is vague when she means it to be mysterious, coy when it ought to be witty, familiar when it should be bold.
