# Shadowlands (1993 film)

Shadowlands is a 1993 British biographical drama film about the relationship between academic C. S. Lewis (played by Anthony Hopkins) and Jewish American poet Joy Davidman (played by Debra Winger), her death from cancer, and how this challenged his Christianity. It is loosely based on Lewis's own account in his book A Grief Observed.
The film was directed by Richard Attenborough with a screenplay by William Nicholson based on his 1985 television film and 1989 stage play. The 1985 script began life as I Call It Joy written for Thames Television by Brian Sibley and Norman Stone. Sibley later wrote the book, Shadowlands: The True Story of C. S. Lewis and Joy Davidman. The film won the 1993 BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film. The film marked the last film appearance of English actor Michael Denison.

## Plot

In the 1950s, the reserved, middle-aged bachelor C. S. Lewis is an Oxford University academic at Magdalen College and author of The Chronicles of Narnia series of children's books. He meets the married American poet Joy Davidman Gresham and her young son Douglas on their visit to England, not yet knowing the circumstances of Gresham's troubled marriage.
What begins as a formal meeting of two very different minds slowly develops into a feeling of connection and love. Lewis finds his quiet life with his brother Warnie disrupted by the outspoken Gresham, whose uninhibited behaviour sharply contrasts with the rigid sensibilities of the male-dominated university. Each provides the other with new ways of viewing the world.
When Joy is diagnosed with cancer, deeper feelings surface and the two of them marry. Lewis' beliefs are tested as his wife tries to prepare him for her death.

## Cast

* Anthony Hopkins as C. S. "Jack" Lewis
* Debra Winger as Joy Davidman
* Edward Hardwicke as Warren "Warnie" Lewis
* Joseph Mazzello as Douglas Gresham
* James Frain as Peter Whistler
* Julian Fellowes as Desmond Arding
* Michael Denison as Harry Harrington
* John Wood as Christopher Riley
* Peter Firth as Dr. Craig
* Tim McMullan as Nick Farrell
* Robert Flemyng as Claude Bird

## Reception
### Critical reception

Shadowlands received positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 97% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 30 reviews, with an average rating of 8.02/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Thanks to brilliant performances from Debra Winger and especially Anthony Hopkins, Shadowlands is a deeply moving portrait of British scholar C.S. Lewis's romance with American poet Joy Gresham."
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times called the film "intelligent, moving and beautifully acted."
Rita Kempley of The Washington Post described it as "a high-class tear-jerker" and a "literate hankie sopper" and added, "William Nicholson's screenplay brims with substance and wit, though it's essentially a soap opera with a Rhodes scholarship . . . [Winger] and Hopkins lend great tenderness and dignity to what is really a rather corny tale of a love that was meant to be."
In Variety, Emanuel Levy observed, "It's a testament to the nuanced writing of William Nicholson ... that the drama works effectively on both personal and collective levels ... Attenborough opts for modest, unobtrusive direction that serves the material and actors ... Hopkins adds another laurel to his recent achievements. As always, there's music in his speech and nothing is over-deliberate or forced about his acting ... Coming off years of desultory and unimpressive movies, Winger at last plays a role worthy of her talent."

### Box office

Shadowlands grossed $25.8 million in the United States and Canada and then grossed £4,862,314 in the United Kingdom, which surpassed The Piano as the highest-grossing period drama in the UK. Worldwide it grossed $52 million.

## Awards and honours

| Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
| Academy Awards | Best Actress | Debra Winger | Nominated |
| Academy Awards | Best Screenplay – Based on Material Previously Produced or Published | William Nicholson | Nominated |
| British Academy Film Awards | Best Film | Richard Attenborough and Brian Eastman | Nominated |
| British Academy Film Awards | Outstanding British Film | Richard Attenborough and Brian Eastman | Won |
| British Academy Film Awards | Best Direction | Richard Attenborough | Nominated |
| British Academy Film Awards | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Anthony Hopkins | Nominated |
| British Academy Film Awards | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Debra Winger | Nominated |
| British Academy Film Awards | Best Adapted Screenplay | William Nicholson | Nominated |
| British Society of Cinematographers Awards | Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature Film | Roger Pratt | Nominated |
| Heartland Film Festival | Studio Crystal Heart Award | Richard Attenborough | Nominated |
| Humanitas Prize | Feature Film Category | William Nicholson | Nominated |
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards | Best Actor | Anthony Hopkins (Also for The Remains of the Day) | Won |
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards | Best Actress | Debra Winger | Runner-up |
| Nastro d'Argento | Best Female Dubbing | Emanuela Rossi (for dubbing Debra Winger) | Nominated |
| National Board of Review Awards | Top Ten Films | Top Ten Films | 5th Place |
| National Board of Review Awards | Best Actor | Anthony Hopkins (Also for The Remains of the Day) | Won |
| National Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Actor | Anthony Hopkins (Also for The Remains of the Day) | 3rd Place |
| New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Actor | Anthony Hopkins (Also for The Remains of the Day) | Runner-up |
| Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards | Top Ten Films | Top Ten Films | 8th Place |
| Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards | Best Actor | Anthony Hopkins (Also for The Remains of the Day) | Won |
| Turkish Film Critics Association Awards | Best Foreign Film | Best Foreign Film | 13th Place |

## Year-end lists

* 3rd – James Berardinelli, ReelViews
* Top 10 (not ranked) – George Meyer, The Ledger
* Honorable mention – Dan Craft, The Pantagraph

## Changes from the stage play or earlier television production

The stage play opens with Lewis giving a talk about the mystery of suffering, whereas this film intersperses a similar talk several times throughout the narrative. The television film opens with Lewis giving a radio broadcast about the sanctity of marriage.
In the stage play as in reality, Lewis and Davidman honeymoon in Greece. In the film, on their honeymoon they look for the "Golden Valley" in Herefordshire, England, as depicted in a painting hanging in Lewis' study.
As in the stage play, though not the earlier television film, Joy has only one son. In the original television film, as in reality, Joy had two sons, Douglas and David.