Shadowlands (1993)

★ 6.9 2h 11m 303 votes IMDb
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C.S. Lewis, a world-renowned writer and professor, leads a passionless life until he meets spirited poet Joy Gresham.

Shadowlands

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Cast

Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins as C. S. 'Jack' Lewis Age 88 · Margam, Port Talbot, Glamorgan, Wales, UK Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins CBE (born December 31, 1937) is a Welsh actor, film director, and film producer. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, four British Academ...
Debra Winger
Debra Winger as Joy Gresham Age 70 · Cleveland Heights, Ohio, USA Mary Debra Winger (born May 16, 1955) is an American actress. A three-time Oscar nominee, she received awards for acting in Terms of Endearment, for which she won the National Society of Film Critics...
Edward Hardwicke
Edward Hardwicke as Warnie Lewis Died 2011 · London, England, UK Edward Hardwicke was an English actor, best known for his roles as Dr Watson in the Granada Television adaptations of Sherlock Holmes and Captain Pat Grant in the series Colditz..
John Wood
John Wood as Christopher Riley Died 2011 · Derbyshire, England, UK John Wood (5 July 1930 – 6 August 2011) was an English stage and screen actor known for his distinguished career in both classical and contemporary theater. He was born on July 5, 1930, in Derbyshire,...
Michael Denison
Michael Denison as Harry Harrington Died 1998 · Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, UK John Michael Terence Wellesley Denison CBE (1 November 1915 – 22 July 1998) was a noted English actor. Description above from the Wikipedia article Michael Denison, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list...
Peter Firth
Peter Firth as Dr Craig Age 72 · Bradford, Yorkshire, England, UK ​Peter Firth is a British film and television actor best known for the films Tess, Equus and The Hunt for Red October, and for playing spymaster Harry Pearce in the BBC TV series Spooks and its movie...

Audience Reviews

Filipe Manuel Neto 8/10 Sep 27, 2022
**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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