"Lost and Delirious" is drenched in the passions of teenage girls shacked up in a posh boarding school. It's an atmosphere lush with supercharged emotions, adolescent rebellion, lesbian eroticism and much heavy breathing. At times, this first English-language film from French-Canadian director Lea Pool feels like those hermetically sealed Hollywood dramas of old where nothing happens that is not about its heroines. Even the fate of a wounded falcon and the affable friendship of the school gardener are mere reflections of the turmoil in these young women's lives.
Pool's lovely actresses do a sensitive job portraying adolescent angst, suggesting how every emotional wave that strikes -- from homesickness to jealousy -- hits with tsunami-like intensity. Female audiences might respond to the overripe melodrama, but the audience for the Lions Gate release necessarily will be limited to those who can't resist Gothic tales.
The film, written by Judith Thompson, derives from Susan Swan's novel "The Wives of Bath". Most of its characters appear as refugees from the book's more detailed narrative, missing much of their baggage and looking a little lost. Teachers, parents and the gardener drop in and out of the heroines' lives without the viewer understanding their relationships to the young women. When, in an early scene, one young woman rudely challenges a teacher in her classroom, we don't grasp what has caused the outburst or how we're supposed to feel about the confrontation.
The story is narrated by Mary Bradford (Mischa Barton), known as Mouse. The shy small-town girl is adopted quickly by her senior roommates, the temperamental Pauline (Piper Perabo) and ever-so-perfect Victoria (Jessica Pare).
Mouse soon realizes Paulie and Tory are lovers, and the two don't really bother to hide their physical affection. So when Tory's younger sister and her pals catch the two in bed one morning, we're understandably bewildered why this could mean social ruin for Tory.
Tory's strict parents would never understand such an infatuation, she explains. So Tory cuts Paulie off and dates a boy to prove she is "normal." Shattered, Paulie seeks solace in nursing an injured falcon back to health. Meanwhile, Mouse leads an uneventful life except in her duties as referee and go-between for her troubled roomies.
Things are clearly marching toward tragedy, with ominous signs and portents involving falconry, fencing and quotations from Shakespeare pointing the way. But much of this feels false, a lugubrious artifice in which the filmmakers are caught up more in atmosphere than in character logic. In a go-for-broke conclusion, Paulie envisions herself as a warrior-woman and challenges her male rival to a fencing duel.
The actresses -- each a little too old for her role, but what else is new? -- nicely capture the innocent determination and headstrong arrogance that lead to damaging obsessions. Pierre Gill's lyrical though self-conscious cinematography skillfully blends the soulful glances, musical montages and artful lovemaking. And designer Serge Bureau takes full advantage of the sprawling grounds in and around Bishop's University in Quebec.
LOST AND DELIRIOUS
Lions Gate Films
Seville Pictures presents
a Cite-Amerique/Dummett Films production
Producers: Lorraine Richard, Louis-Philippe Rochon, Greg Dummett
Director: Lea Pool
Screenwriter: Judith Thompson
Based on the novel "The Wives of Bath" by: Susan Swan
Director of photography: Pierre Gill
Production designer: Serge Bureau
Music: Yves Chamberland
Costume designer: Aline Gilmore
Editor: Gaetan Huot
Color/stereo
Cast:
Pauline: Piper Perabo
Victoria Moller: Jessica Pare
Mary: Mischa Barton
Faye Vaughn: Jackie Burroughs
Joseph Menzies: Graham Greene
Eleanor Bannet: Mimi Kuzyk
Running time -- 105 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Pool's lovely actresses do a sensitive job portraying adolescent angst, suggesting how every emotional wave that strikes -- from homesickness to jealousy -- hits with tsunami-like intensity. Female audiences might respond to the overripe melodrama, but the audience for the Lions Gate release necessarily will be limited to those who can't resist Gothic tales.
The film, written by Judith Thompson, derives from Susan Swan's novel "The Wives of Bath". Most of its characters appear as refugees from the book's more detailed narrative, missing much of their baggage and looking a little lost. Teachers, parents and the gardener drop in and out of the heroines' lives without the viewer understanding their relationships to the young women. When, in an early scene, one young woman rudely challenges a teacher in her classroom, we don't grasp what has caused the outburst or how we're supposed to feel about the confrontation.
The story is narrated by Mary Bradford (Mischa Barton), known as Mouse. The shy small-town girl is adopted quickly by her senior roommates, the temperamental Pauline (Piper Perabo) and ever-so-perfect Victoria (Jessica Pare).
Mouse soon realizes Paulie and Tory are lovers, and the two don't really bother to hide their physical affection. So when Tory's younger sister and her pals catch the two in bed one morning, we're understandably bewildered why this could mean social ruin for Tory.
Tory's strict parents would never understand such an infatuation, she explains. So Tory cuts Paulie off and dates a boy to prove she is "normal." Shattered, Paulie seeks solace in nursing an injured falcon back to health. Meanwhile, Mouse leads an uneventful life except in her duties as referee and go-between for her troubled roomies.
Things are clearly marching toward tragedy, with ominous signs and portents involving falconry, fencing and quotations from Shakespeare pointing the way. But much of this feels false, a lugubrious artifice in which the filmmakers are caught up more in atmosphere than in character logic. In a go-for-broke conclusion, Paulie envisions herself as a warrior-woman and challenges her male rival to a fencing duel.
The actresses -- each a little too old for her role, but what else is new? -- nicely capture the innocent determination and headstrong arrogance that lead to damaging obsessions. Pierre Gill's lyrical though self-conscious cinematography skillfully blends the soulful glances, musical montages and artful lovemaking. And designer Serge Bureau takes full advantage of the sprawling grounds in and around Bishop's University in Quebec.
LOST AND DELIRIOUS
Lions Gate Films
Seville Pictures presents
a Cite-Amerique/Dummett Films production
Producers: Lorraine Richard, Louis-Philippe Rochon, Greg Dummett
Director: Lea Pool
Screenwriter: Judith Thompson
Based on the novel "The Wives of Bath" by: Susan Swan
Director of photography: Pierre Gill
Production designer: Serge Bureau
Music: Yves Chamberland
Costume designer: Aline Gilmore
Editor: Gaetan Huot
Color/stereo
Cast:
Pauline: Piper Perabo
Victoria Moller: Jessica Pare
Mary: Mischa Barton
Faye Vaughn: Jackie Burroughs
Joseph Menzies: Graham Greene
Eleanor Bannet: Mimi Kuzyk
Running time -- 105 minutes
No MPAA rating...
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