How Can You Comment on Perfection?

Rating: 9/10 (13 February 1999)

I held out on actually seeing "Lawrence" until it was shown on a local big-big screen, and the wait was worth it. This is a film that clicks on every level, and caught me from the first shot. This is saying a lot, because I'm not normally into pseudo-war movies, and didn't know a lot about Arab history going in. And yet, Lean and Bolt snagged me with the overture, and didn't let go...
A lot of this is from Lean's amazing direction. His prologue puts us right in Lawrence's shoes for a fatal last motorcycle ride, but his artistry is such that several characters whom we meet here but who don't show up again for another three hours are so memorable that we grok his ironies instantly.
On top of that, Bolt's screenplay is a perfect example of economy; it's a good forty-five minutes into the film before we have a scene longer than two minutes; as well, we only get one expositional scene early on -- and yet, we're given character, situation, nuance... everything with very few words. The result was that, at the interval, I was blown away to find out I'd sat through two and a half hours of movie. In objective time, it felt like about half of any typical Hollywood film.
Nuance is probably the key word here. Lean manages to educate his viewers in Arab culture, a key to the plot, without ever explaining anything. We see it, and we understand. In particular, I was struck by a caravan shot, in which a quartet of camels labor under strangely wobbling canopies. Nothing is ever said about these constructs, but a mere shot of a hand and a wedding ring tells us everything -- the harem travels concealed; women are a secret here; and so Lean elucidates an entire culture in a way that's been forgotten. Say it with me: "cinematically..."
Another lost art on display here: subtext, subtext, subtext. The brilliance of the story is in what is not said, but is merely shown; Lean's trust in the audience is superb. Consequently, all the minor characters come ravingly alive, and the differences between British and Arab stand out in hard relief without anyone ever making a speech about it. (The mind boggles at how this story would have been hacked to bits by modern Hollywood thinking. "But, Mr. Lean -- you have to explain to the audience why they should think this way in this scene...") Lean never panders, and the film is all the greater for it.
Add onto an excellent screenplay and amazing direction an epic story that's really rather personal, and performances from some of the greatest actors of our time -- Peter O'Toole, Alec Guiness, Anthony Quinn, Claude Rains -- and you can't go wrong. But, my own personal caveat -- DO NOT SEE THIS FILM FOR THE FIRST TIME UNLESS YOU CAN SEE IT IN A BIG THEATRE. Anything less is a raving injustice to the creators. If you get the chance, great; let your mind and heart and senses be absorbed. Then you'll understand why this is one of the greatest movies ever made...