Oscar and Lucinda

Plot synopsis:
As a child living in Australia, Lucinda Leplastrier is given a Prince Rupert's Drop which sparks a lifelong obsession with glass.
Lucinda's parents die and she is left a wealthy heiress after her guardians sell off the vast farmland that was her family's home. She buys a glass factory with her money and takes to gambling after her accountant introduces her to it.
Meanwhile, a young Oscar is being raised as a Plymouth Brethren by his father but after receiving a sign from God he decides to join the Anglican faith. While studying he is introduced to gambling and becomes massively successful, using his winnings to fund his studies and giving the rest to the poor. He earns a scholarship to study in New South Wales. On the boat over he meets Lucinda and hears her confess to gambling which he denies is a sin. They play cards together until Oscar becomes panicked at the sight of a storm.
In New South Wales Oscar loses his scholarship after he is unable to stop gambling. He goes to live with Lucinda who allows him to work in her glass factory. Inspired by a model of a glass church she shows him he asks her to make a real life replica to send to their mutual friend the Revered Dennis Hasset, betting that he can deliver it by Good Friday. Lucinda decides that they will each bet their inheritance.
Because he fears water, Oscar takes the church over land in an expedition led by Mr. Jeffries. He witnesses Jeffries murdering and raping Indigenous Australians and eventually kills him in self-defence after Jeffries attacks him.
He is successful in delivering the church. Weakened upon arrival, he is left in the care of a woman named Miriam Chadwick, who rapes him. Fearing that he will have to marry Miriam, and in love with Lucinda, Oscar enters the glass church to pray. He falls asleep and is drowned inside when the church, which had been resting on a barge in the water, sinks.
As Miriam is pregnant with Oscar's child, Hasset burns the papers confirming the wager, not wanting Lucinda's money to be inherited by her. She dies shortly after her son, Oscar, is born and the child is raised by Lucinda.

Tags: murder

Review:
The film had to do with love and gambling, yes, but there were elements of faith, guilt, family, destiny and survival that were wholly ignored in the press.
Like her minor role in _Paradise Road_, she steals scenes and breaks hearts with an undeniable charisma and resolve.Set in Australia, the story is surprising, and ultimately shocking in its constrast of the ideal and the real.
I loved the awkwardness of Oscar and Lucinda, and the way that we had a chance to see (at length} who they were before they ever met each other.
It made their attraction to one another make sense (something so rare in cinematic romances).I think this is Ralph Fiennes' best performance of his career, and he's proved his versatility.
Cate Blanchett was really the standout for me; I took notice of her right away, and determined to keep an eye out for her future performances (she did a terrific job in the flawed "Elizabeth").Of course, the film is beautifully made (I wouldn't expect anything less from Gillian Armstrong) and imaginative ...
I don't know what it is about Ralph Fiennes and Booker Prize-winning novels (like 1996's THE ENGLISH PATIENT), but this shows him to have a pretty good track record with them.
This novel was extremely difficult to follow, but director Gillian Armstrong, who also did a good job with her adaptation of the more straightforward LITTLE WOMAN, cuts through the confusing storyline to make an entertaining and thoughtful film about gambling, religion, and, of course, love.
She and writer Laura Jones can't quite defeat some of the overdone symbolism of the novel (like the glass church), but for the most part, this avoids the stateliness of many literary adaptations by being alive.Fiennes took awhile to warm up for me as Oscar, because this is a more outwardly nervous character than he's ever played before, and the voice he uses takes getting used to as well.
I love these two actors, Ralph Fiennes and Cate Blanchett.
In this film Ralph Fiennes and Cate Blanchett are the virtuosos and they simply dazzled me with their talent.The main story of Oscar and Lucinda is not very original, a tragic love story.
Their repressed world can make an interesting contrast to the lives of free spirits and native cultures.The dilemma Oscar and Lucinda gives us is that if we follow our feelings and obsessions, we will break away from many silly and confining customs.
Oscar and Lucinda goes to the heart of many of these conflicts which are also touched upon by the fine film, The Piano, and by the more obvious and superficial Sirens.With such weighty issues, there is much hand wringing guilt by several characters.
Based on Australian novelist, Peter Carey's award-winning book, Oscar and Lucinda, this  is a faithful period piece about iconoclasts and their attempt to find love and purpose in strait-laced society despite their fears and obsessions.Ralph Fiennes and Cate Blanchett have glorious, quirky chemistry in the title roles.
Ralph Fiennes is such a mercurial actor that while watching this film, it's hard to believe this is the same man that played Amon Goeth in Schindler's List and Charles Van Doren in Quiz Show.Cate Blanchett was discovered by Director Shekhar Kapur and awarded the title role in Elizabeth as a result of her natural, unforced acting in this little-seen Gillian Armstrong film.
Regular readers of my comments will wonder why I elevate it to my "must see" categoryPart of the reason I want you to see it is because of how well it pairs with Cate's masterpiece, "Heaven." Now, that film can stand on its own as a transcendent cinematic experience.
Altogether a masterful piece of work from one of my favorite directors (Armstrong also filmed "Charlotte Gray," and "Little Women"), with an absolutely stunning, star-studded (before they were "big") cast.You simply cannot comment on the film without considering the two leading cast members.
If you're not in tears by the end, you've not managed to give your heart over to one of the most fascinating literary characters ever created.The sub-roles are all very good (Richard Roxburg in yet ANOTHER 'villainous' lead, but no one minds his untimely demise; Cirian Hinds in the upper-crust role of a minister shocked by his lady friend's gambling habits, even Geoffrey Rush as the unseen narrorator) and lend themselves to a highly romantic atmosphere.
In the course of this film you believe Oscar & Lucinda actually get to know one another.
Two eccentrics, one the rich owner of a glass-works (Cate Blanchette), and one an emotionally damaged and physically fragile young minister (Ralph Fiennes) are united in friendship, and eventually romance by their obsession with gambling.
After a slow beginning, Oscar and Lucinda meet and create a peculiar relationship with God on one side and the addiction of gambling on the other.
But we still get the picture and by the end of it Ralph Fiennes' brilliant performance as the saintly manic, bible guilt-ridden, phobia riddled Oscar, makes it worth the while..
I couldn't believe it.Despite the story problems, Cate Blanchett and Ralph Fiennes were excellent..
Lucinda's character is underdeveloped in the script, but played all-out by Cate Blanchett.
Here's a movie which appears to have a lot going for it: adaptation of a Booker Prize novel, directed by Gillian Armstrong, Ralph Fiennes straight from his triumph in the English Patient, and Cate Blanchett in her first significant role.
This is a strange story (whose plot I won't repeat for anyone wishing to be surprised) with characters that are completely unconvincing, despite the best efforts of Fiennes and Blanchett, in a story that might serve the fantastical imagination of certain directors.
After seeing it, I wondered why this wonderful film wasn't in more places.Ralph Fiennes and Cate Blanchett are dazzling in their roles, as a aqua-phobic priest and a defiant glassworks business woman.
Directed with sizzling intensity and flair by the Australian Gillian Armstrong, it pairs Ralph Fiennes as Oscar with Cate Blanchett as Lucinda, when they were at their most youthful, zestful, and charming.
Blanchett and Fiennes play two oddballs, whose childhoods are briefly but effectively sketched, in this strange tale set in the 1840s and based on a novel by the Australian novelist Peter Carey.
At times, it is almost like watching a wildlife film, with Oscar and Lucinda as the creatures with the strange habits.
They are so obsessed with gambling that they forget to fall in love until rather late in the story.
Great performance from Ralph Fiennes and a good one from Cate Blanchett.
Lucinda Leplastrier (Cate Blanchett) receives a large inheritance which she uses to buy a glass factory in Sydney.
Odd, unique, beautifully photographed character study/love story.
Odd, unique, beautifully photographed character study/love story.
"Oscar and Lucinda," made in 1997 by Gillian Armstrong, stars Ralph Fiennes and Cate Blanchett in the title roles.
The film starts out one way and becomes something else, and then something else again - it's quite a saga, and very beautiful to look at.Fiennes plays an Anglican minister, Oscar, who is a compulsive gambler.
Oscar then makes a bet with Lucinda that he can deliver a church - made of glass - to her minister friend Hinds, which means it has to travel across the continent.
If he can do it, it will be proof that he loves Lucinda.The vision of the glass church going down the river alone makes this movie worthwhile - truly stunning.Blanchett gives a beautiful performance, very organic.
The very last scene in the film pulls it out of what could have been a real downer.I can't say I loved it, but there are some wonderful elements in this movie.
Acting, story, costumes, casting, cinematography, sets (which include the amazing glass church).
The fullness with which this is explored, in the complexity of family history, religious influence, the restraint of both social construct and insecurity, make this a remarkable gem that deserves the overwhelming word of mouth that this film has accumulated.If this type of film (period piece, character studies, off beat story and characters) is not your cup of tea, don't waste your time.
Whenever I watch or think about this film my life seems to illuminate and sparkle just like the movie does..
Ralph Fiennes and Cate Blanchett are perfect as the two misfits in this love story/tragedy.
In this church stands Oscar and this is the proof of his love for a  woman called Lucinda.
For those of you know a little about Stanislavsky and objectives in acting you'll know that in a role you must apply only one objective at a time, but cleverly pointed out by one of my friends, Fiennes defies this and plays multiple objectives making his character so much more deeper.
A less talented actor would not have been able to carry this off, but Ralph Fiennes, as usual makes it seem like water off a ducks back.Cate Blanchett shines as the strong female in the film - a successful female in a man's world.
Blanchett, not being the most attractive woman in the entire world is perfectly cast as you find yourself watching her and finding her incredibly sexy - and just want to jump and say Oscar and Lucinda - you are so perfect for each other!
The scene with Blanchett in the glass church is an amazing piece of acting.Gillian Armstrong (Little Women) triumphs with the breathtaking Australian and English countryside scenery, and certain shots just shouldn't work, but amazingly they do.Oscar and Lucinda is acting at it's best, and an amazing screenplay from such a dull, long-winded book..
"Oscar and Lucinda," directed by superb Australia director Gillian Armstrong , was very worthy of much more notice than it received in America.
Strong performances by the entire cast (especially the supporting character, Oscar's adoptive father, played wonderfully by Tom Wilkinson of 1997's hilarious "The Full Monty," who proves here that he can be an intensely passionate dramatic actor as well as a comedic one), together with intensely beautiful cinematography, a tight, well-woven plot, and incredible direction make this a film not to be missed.
Ralph Fiennes' incredible talent touches me once again as he portrays Oscar, a timid, nervous gambler with a heart of gold.
I love Cate Blanchett and also admire Ralph Fiennes's acting skills.
If I'm wrong, please correct me.The palette of colors, the wondrous settings, the cast -- the beauty of Ralph Fiennes eyes, Cate Blanchette's cheekbones --, the way nature and industry, religious piety and intemperance conflict and coalesce is too magnificent to describe in a short review.
Oscar and Lucinda is one of the best movies I have ever seen.
Also I think Ralph Fiennes should have been nominated for best actor in his performance.
"Oscar and Lucinda" reminded me why I keep watching movies, even though so many of them turn out to be disappointing - because every once in a while you stumble across one that takes your breath away.
Both were very odd and unconventional people (at least Oscar was - Lucinda struck me simply as a woman way ahead of her time, but Oscar would have been a misfit in any era), but through the course of the movie you get to know and understand and sympathize with them to an unbelievable degree.
It was especially moving because they were both such outcasts from society that - to use the language of gambling that permeates the movie - the odds were stacked against either of them finding someone who would love and understand them.
Besides, the fact we can get so worked up about the fate of fictional characters is a testament to how good this movie is.If you are a romantic, but hate conventional, cliched, sappy, superficial Hollywood love stories, this is the movie for you..
This movie is filled with magical imagry & layers of meanings.Oscar, while not the usual dashing character that Ralph Fiennes plays, is one of the most romantic.Cate Blanchett, at the beginning of her rocketing rise to fame is his perfect match.They make these unusual characters extremely engaging & endearing.
Ralph Fiennes is wonderful as Oscar and Cate Blanchett is quite good, as well.
Though I didn't like the film as well as Peter Carey's splendid novel on which it's based, I think it a good and quite unusual movie.
In "Oscar and Lucinda", Armstrong takes a quantum leap and creates her riskiest project to date, recalling the folly and bravery of Herzog's "Fitzcarraldo", a work that has come to signify the grandeur and illusions of filmmaking.
Like "Fitzcarraldo", "Oscar and Lucinda" is imbued with the same obsessions and romantic longings that border on madness--defying reality at all costs.
I believe this movie was quite splendid indeed.I especially enjoyed the part where Oscar said "The" It really was quite smashing.Coming from England I believe this movie was very accurate.My mates and I had a wonderful time watching this film; We believed it was "Sexcii" as the "hip" kids call it these days.Well I must be going now.Chereo!
The two titular characters -- one starting out in England, the other in Sydney, Australia -- don't even meet until about 40 minutes into the film; it's all the more impressive that we don't feel impatient for this meeting, realizing that their connection will occur as a result of the natural and logical development of the story.
Aside from Oscar and Lucinda, Armstrong also has to manage about 8 or 9 other characters who will be crucial to the plot.
In other words, the Narrator is a key element, rather than a superfluous chatterbox -- the case of most movie narrators.The story is set in the 1850's, revolving around a saintly young Anglican minister (Ralph Fiennes) who, trying to escape his gambling addiction, takes a ship to Australia.
On board, he meets Lucinda (Cate Blanchett), an ahead-of-her-time independent businesswoman from Sydney who is returning home after a buying expedition for her glass-works factory.
and, for Oscar, ultimate proof that he loves Lucinda more than any man.This is a wonderful story, chock-full of some pretty startling ideas -- for instance, that religious faith itself is little more than a cosmic gamble -- and immersed in the visual symbols of water (i.e., Death) and glass (declared here as a solid form of liquid).
True saints can never be with us for very long: they set examples for us, but they're soon called home to God. In any case, the movie's symbolism was telling you all along what Fiennes' fate would be.Sorry for the long review, but this is a great film.
And this movie also introduced us to the great Cate Blanchett, who has more than lived up to the promise that she manifested here.9 stars out of 10..
I hate to sound like a Philistine, but although I have enjoyed many an indy film that was slow and deep and unusual, I found 'Oscar and Lucinda' such a mish-mash of events, characters and crazy actions that I eventually was left simply shaking my head and wondering what on earth could happen next, while not really caring any more.
I hated Ralph Fiennes as Oscar, wanting to jump into the film and cut his hair or give him a new hat and wardrobe.
Yet it still seems strange to see the social stigma Oscar and Lucinda face for their obsession.
In fact, Oscar gets away with murder, but he can't seem to escape being punished for his gambling habit.This is part of the irony and humor of the film, and irony can be by its nature, very frustrating, especially when tragedy lurks so close at hand at all times.
No. We all want happy endings, but we all know too well that their existence is a blessing more than a given, and that has everything to do with why we crave them so much.Oscar and Lucinda are misfits, pure and simple.
Mid-19th century tale set for the most part in Australia, about the relationship between Oscar (Ralph Fiennes) an eccentric Anglican minister who has set out from England and Lucinda (Cate Blanchett) an eccentric Australian heiress.
Both characters have gambling issues and one is obsessive while the other is compulsive which I how they come to know each other.Oscar and Lucinda find themselves drawn to one another not only by their mutual addiction but also by their loneliness and isolation.
Their ultimate wager concerns the delivery of a glass church to an isolated settlement by Good Friday, which is further complicated by Oscar's insistence that it be delivered overland because of his phobia of open water - despite the hazards of the virtually untouched wilderness.Directed by Gillian Armstrong with strong performance by both leads and a rather impressive supporting cast including Geoffrey Rush as the narrator.
At the same time we meet Cate Blanchett, an ambitious young lady who enjoys gambling, does well at it, acquires a glass factory, and moves to Australia aboard the Leviathan.The two of them DO meet aboard the ship and spend a lot of time together in Sidney, playing poker and making wagers on all sorts of silly thing, such as who can finish scrubbing the floor first.
I don't know what to make of scenes like that.It's a very genteel story as befits the times.
First things first, Cate Blanchett and Ralph Fiennes are water and air for the world's film industry as we know it.
It was breathtaking (especially the floating church scene), it was heartbreaking, it was bittersweet, it was beautiful, it was thought provoking, it was marvelous, it was well narrated, it was well acted, it was well directed, it was picturesque!Oscar and Lucinda (Fiennes and Blanchett) are two young adults who love to gamble.
Oscar's a priest and Lucinda's socialite just coming out in society.
Lucinda then decides to build a glass church for their mutual friend, a priest who lives miles away and Oscar bets he can deliver it to him before Good Friday.