Unlike the MPAA we do not assign
one
inscrutable rating based on age, but 3 objective ratings for SEX/NUDITY, VIOLENCE/GORE
and PROFANITY on a scale of 0 to 10, from lowest to highest,
depending on quantity and context.
Adaptation of A.S. Byatt's mystery about two literary sleuths (Gwyneth Paltrow and Aaron Eckhart) who fall
in love while investigating the secret romantic life of two Victorian poets. Also with Tom Hollander, Lena Headey and Jeremy Northam. [1:43]
SEX/NUDITY 4 - A man and a woman have sex: we see her sitting on top of him and there's brief thrusting (he's bare-chested
and she is in a sheer nightdress). A man unlaces a woman's corset and kisses her back and shoulders. A bare-chested man and a woman kiss
and lie back in bed caressing each other (we see this scene a couple of times). A man and a woman kiss a few times, a man and a woman lie
in bed together and kiss briefly. A woman caresses another woman's face, and a woman lies on a sofa with her head in the lap of another
woman who begins to caress her hair. A man and a woman hold hands in several scenes, sometimes accompanied by longing glances. A man takes
off his clothes down to his boxers and a woman watches (not in a sexual way). We see a man in bed and his bare shoulders and chest are
exposed. There are many discussions of love poetry, and of a homosexual relationship between two women. We see a few nude statues (both
male and female, exposing bare breasts and buttocks). Women wear period costumes that expose cleavage.
VIOLENCE/GORE 2 - A woman sews rocks into her skirt, we see her walking into a body of water and hear that she committed
suicide. A man chases another man, tackles him, and punches him in the nose (we see some blood). A man threatens two men with a shotgun. A
woman dumps over a table in anger. There is a discussion of a child having died and the possibility of a woman having killed her child.
Three men are shown digging up a grave.
the review continues below...
PROFANITY 4 - 2 scatological terms, 2 anatomical terms, 3 mild obscenities, 14 religious exclamations, 1 derogatory term for
homosexuals. [profanity glossary]
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Secrets, lust, scholars, feminism, misogyny, suffragettes, homosexuality, Anglocentrism, God, poets and
poetry, solitude, muses, Sigmund Freud, spiritualism, infidelity, childbirth out of wedlock, forgiveness.
MESSAGE - Keeping secrets from the ones you love can ruin your life.
(Note: People are shown drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes.)
A CAVEAT: We've gone through several editorial changes since we
started covering films in 1992 and some of our early standards were
not as stringent as they are now. We therefore need to revisit many
older reviews, especially those written prior to 1998 or so; please
keep this in mind if you're consulting a review from that period.
While we plan to revisit and correct older reviews our resources are
limited and it is a slow, time-consuming process.
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