Synopsis
England, 1600. Queen Elizabeth I promises Orlando, a young nobleman obsessed with poetry, that she will grant him land and fortune if he agrees to satisfy a very particular request.
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Cast
- Tilda SwintonOrlando
- Billy ZaneShelmerdine
- Lothaire BluteauThe Khan
- John WoodArchduke Harry
- Charlotte ValandreySasha
- Heathcote WilliamsNick Greene / Publisher
- Quentin CrispQueen Elizabeth I
- Peter EyreMr. Pope
- Thom HoffmanKing William of Orange
- Kathryn HunterCountess
Recommendations
- 88
Chicago Sun-Times
Directed with sly grace and quiet elegance by Sally Potter, it is not about a story or a plot, but about a vision of human existence. - 88
Slant Magazine
Rarely have source material, director, and leading actress been more in alignment than in Orlando. - 80
Washington Post
Swinton is elegantly comic, but also strangely cartoonish.... A funny and forthright screen presence, she is the foil for the stately pace and the opulent sets -- the most ravishing since "Bram Stoker's Dracula." There is only one conclusion: Potter, the little smarty-pants, is pulling our cross-gartered gams. She's having us on with this spoof of the prissy masterpiece theatricality. - 75
Baltimore Sun
Generally, Orlando is too busy having witty fun to turn into a cautionary tale against one sex in favor of the other. It's more like an extremely vivid drawing-room comedy imposed on the background of a historical epic. - 75
Chicago Tribune
What it lacks in coherence it makes up for in sheer spectacle. - 67
Austin Chronicle
Holding this highly mannered but incredibly beautiful work together is lead actress Swinton who appears in nearly every shot. Also a favorite of director Derek Jarman, Swinton conveys such an intelligence and grace that it penetrates and expands whatever material she is handling. Let's hope that the arthouse success of Orlando makes Swinton a more frequent visitor to our shores. - 60
CineVue
Swinton's intoxicating lead turn and Potter's aesthetic eye make up for the majority of the film's failings and flaws. - 60
Empire
Continually clearing its throat to utter something profound about sexuality, this never quite delivers the speech, though its failure to fully engage the mind is made up for by its captivation of the eye.
