Synopsis
Set against the glamorous backdrop of Britain's roaring '20s, The Laureate tells the story of young British War Poet Robert Graves, who is married with four children when he meets and becomes romantically involved with Laura Riding, a writer from America. Defying the conventions of polite society, Riding moves in with Graves and his wife living as a menage a tois. Then with the arrival of strappingly handsome Irish poet Geoffrey Phibbs, the arrangement becomes a menage a quatre. But soon tensions and rivalries become so fraught that Graves is a suspect for attempted murder.
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Cast
- Tom HughesRobert Graves
- Dianna AgronLaura Riding
- Laura HaddockNancy Nicholson
- Fra FeeGeoffrey Phibbs
- Patricia HodgeAmy Graves
- Julian GloverAlfred Graves
- Indica WatsonCatherine Nicholson
- Meriel HinschingElfriede
- Timothy RenoufSiegfried Sassoon
- Christien AnholtT. S. Eliot
Recommendations
- 67
The Film Stage
While the structure is fairly standard and its overall aesthetic sometimes appears limited by scope, The Laureate is a solid, heady account of a particularly tumultuous time in the life of poet Robert Graves. - 63
Movie Nation
While The Laureate impresses here and there, there’s nothing that truly dazzles and little that sizzles, either. - 60
Variety
Well-acted, nicely crafted and a handsome period piece within modest means, this isn’t the most novel, memorable or intellectually deep enterprise of its type. But it will satisfy viewers looking for a slightly racier variation on “Downton Abbey” terrain. - 60
Screen Rant
Ultimately, The Laureate pushes past the tone and format of a typical biopic to make something fresh, though it holds weak spots in an otherwise compelling story. - 50
Los Angeles Times
Haddock proves the beating heart of the piece, infusing her role with a quiet strength, determination and equitability; neither plucky enabler nor long-suffering victim but something believably fresher and more heroic. Maybe she should have been the film’s true focus. - 38
RogerEbert.com
One thing is certain: for all the strain the movie exerts, it never comes close to touching the hem of the writers it purports to depict. And it leaves the mystical and erotic dimensions of their lives and works far outside of its belabored vision.
