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Shadowlands

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6.9/10 • 267

1993-12-252h 11m

DramaRomance

He distanced himself from love as he distanced himself from pain, until one woman got close enough to open his heart to the world.

C.S. Lewis, a world-renowned writer and professor, leads a passionless life until he meets spirited poet Joy Gresham.

Directors
Richard Attenborough
Editors
Lesley Walker

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Anthony Hopkins

    Anthony Hopkins

    C. S. 'Jack' Lewis

  2. Debra Winger

    Debra Winger

    Joy Gresham

  3. Edward Hardwicke

    Edward Hardwicke

    Warnie Lewis

  4. John Wood

    John Wood

    Christopher Riley

  5. Michael Denison

    Michael Denison

    Harry Harrington

  6. Peter Firth

    Peter Firth

    Dr Craig

  7. Matthew Delamere

    Matthew Delamere

    Simon Chadwick

  8. Julian Fellowes

    Julian Fellowes

    Desmond Arding

  9. Julian Firth

    Julian Firth

    Father John Fisher

Reviews1

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Filipe Manuel Neto Avatar

Filipe Manuel Neto

Sep 27, 2022

8/10

Hopkins and Attenborough in an emotional and feeling-filled work. When I decided to see this movie, I knew little about the life of the writer C. S. Lewis, who I only knew from having written the books "The Chronicles of Narnia". And I confess that, in order to fully understand the film and also be able to write something about it, I had the curiosity and interest to read one thing or two about him. For example, I was very impressed by his deep connection to the university and his closeness to J. R. R. Tolkien, who is also the author of a great work of fiction. In fact, thinking about it, it is interesting to see how their works share a lot of points of contact, subtle similarities. But that's a thing for another review. The film focuses on Lewis' life and, especially, on his love relationship with his American wife, Joy Gresham. Lewis was an academic, philosopher and theologian who left many works on these topics, and who unexpectedly decides to marry a recently divorced American, in a union that only later gave way to love between them. The film was inspired by a play, which in turn was inspired by the texts that Lewis wrote about what he experienced and felt. The best thing about the film, for me, is the direction and the cast performance. The director, Sir Richard Attenborough, was known for his attention to detail, cinematography and choice of locations. Considered by many to be one of the great British film directors, this film leaves us with a work full of elegance and beauty, but which seems to be largely forgotten these days, undoubtedly deserving more attention. The cast, in turn, is expertly led by Debra Winger and Sir Anthony Hopkins, a duo of actors of great quality and talent. Hopkins does deeply emotional work, in which we can see that he tried to employ a lot of feeling as well as intellect. Winger didn't impress me that much, but the great quality of her work is undeniable, especially in the moments when she plays with Hopkins or with her fictional son, played by a young boy, Joseph Mazello, who also deserves praise for a job well done. The rest of the cast gives the protagonists the necessary support, but does not stand out or stand out. The film was filmed in Oxford, and we can see how Attenboroug tried to take advantage of the original places, where Lewis would have been and that he surely knew, such as the university and academic spaces. The film gives us an aroma of the atmosphere of the old and renowned institution, and of some of the ceremonies and traditions that take place there. The cinematography is very beautiful and makes the best use of light, close-ups, landscapes and the beauty of old buildings. There are no great effects here, nor does the film need that, but we have an effective soundtrack.

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  • Shadowlands poster
  • Shadowlands poster
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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
$22,000,000.00
Revenue
$25,842,000.00
Keywords
stroke of fateenglandbrotherchristianityliteraturebachelormarriagebased on play or musicaloxfordauthorwriterfalling in love1950schildren's author