Synopsis
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, an unstable but brilliant poet, becomes friends with the unknown William Wordsworth, and together they set out to recreate English poetry in the spirt of liberty and democracy. As time goes by, cracks begin to appear in the relationship. Sam becomes addicted to opium, while William's ego and ambition distance him further from his friend.
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Cast
- Linus RoacheSamuel Taylor Coleridge
- John HannahWilliam Wordsworth
- Samantha MortonSara Coleridge
- Emily WoofDorothy Wordsworth
- Andrea LoweEdith Southey
- Dexter FletcherHumphry Davy
- Andy SerkisJohn Thelwall
- Samuel WestRobert Southey
- Colin McCredieMessenger
- John KaneJones
Recommendations
- 90
New Times (L.A.)
Easily one of the finest and most sophisticated films of the year. - 83
Entertainment Weekly
Pandaemonium goes a long way toward capturing the compelling delirium of opium among a crowd of freethinking British iconoclasts. - 80
The New York Times
Literate and handsome. - 80
L.A. Weekly
Temple doesn't just highlight the contemporary relevance of Coleridge's liberated words and themes, he shows us how high they still soar. - 70
TV Guide Magazine
As a visual counterpart to some of the most sublime verse ever written, it's often thrilling. - 70
Los Angeles Times
It's unfortunate and ironic that Temple risks so much so successfully in evoking an atmosphere of literary imagination as well as Coleridge's drug-induced fantasies only to conclude his film in a thud of fustian staginess. - 63
New York Daily News
Treats the poets not as creative equals but as a groundbreaking genius and a jealous, vindictive hack. Wordsworth is Salieri to Coleridge's Mozart. - 50
Variety
Never quite dull, neither does it ever find a viable rhythm, narrative arc or crux of emotional engagement.
