The French Lieutenant's Woman

"She was lost from the moment she saw him."

Oct 16 1981 R 2h 4m
Drama, Romance

In this story-within-a-story, Anna is an actress starring opposite Mike in a period piece about the forbidden love between their respective characters, Sarah and Charles. Both actors are involved in serious relationships, but the passionate nature of the script leads to an off-camera love affair as well. While attempting to maintain their composure and professionalism, Anna and Mike struggle to come to terms with their infidelity.

Plot

In nineteenth century England Charles, a paleontologist, is engaged to be married, but who falls in love with outcast Sarah, whose melancholy makes her leave him after a short, but passionate affair. Anna (Meryl Streep) and Mike (Jeremy Irons), who play the characters of Sarah and Charles, go, during the shooting of the movie, through a relationship that runs parallel to that of their characters.

Written by

John Fowles, Harold Pinter, Karel Reisz

Directed by

Karel Reisz

Cast

Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons, Hilton McRae

Crew

View crew

Production Countries

United Kingdom

Production Companies

Juniper Films

Languages

English

Awards

Nominated for 5 Oscars. 11 wins & 20 nominations total

Trailers
The French Lieutenant's Woman Official Trailer #1 - Meryl Streep Movie (1981) HD
The French Lieutenant's Woman 1981 TV trailer
The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981) Original Trailer [FHD]
Featurettes
Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons on THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT'S WOMAN
Carl Davis on Composing the Theme for THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT’S WOMAN
Scores
# of Votes
15,799
Average Rating
6.9 out of 10
Metascore
64
Popularity
NA