Dreaming of Joseph Lees (1979)
Synopsis: This is a story
Thomas Hardy might have put his name on though he would have taken it
off had he seen the result. Filmed on the Isle of Man, standing in for 1950s
Somerset, this rural melodrama is heavy going, despite some glowingly worthy
performances.
Eva (Samantha Morton) falls in love with geologist Joseph
Lees (Rupert Graves), her cousin; when he takes off, she marries pig farmer Lee
Ross. Then Lees returns, re-igniting passions that burn as fiercely as a barn
fire. Eric Styles's direction is overwrought, while Catherine Linstrum's script
is declamatory and stagey. That said, Hardy would have loved Morton's seductive
sexual innocence.
Cast: Rupert Graves, Samantha
Morton Runtime: 94 min
*Note: USA and Canadian customers
should check their dvd players for PAL format compatibility. |