On S List of Movie Reviews

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Sons and Lovers (1960)

Rate: 7
Viewed: 1/26

1/26: Popping into my head was whether or not Sons and Lovers should be considered part of the British New Wave despite being a literary adaptation of D.H. Lawrence's eponymous novel.

Eventually, I concluded that it had to be. Two taboo subjects are touched upon: sexual performance and rejection of marriage. Paul Morel explored sex and relationships and decided that marriage wasn't for him after all because he didn't want to be trapped in an institution just because society said so.

For the most part, I'm reminded of Room at the Top. Sure, there's an exploration of young adults' lives that are being shaped by their parents, but it's not a strong subject throughout, hence my rating of '7'. What Paul Morel experiencing is rather typical.

Nominated for seven Oscars, I agree with them all but am very surprised that Dean Stockwell (probably the best performance of his career) and Wendy Hiller weren't, having carried the film from start to finish. A nomination that went for adapted writing is the right call because of the extremely rich dialogue. Primarily, the reason why I sought this film is Freddie Francis' Oscar-winning cinematography. He absolutely deserved it: so many wonderful shots in black and white.

All in all, although old and somewhat talky, Sons and Lovers holds up well.

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