奥斯卡与露辛达 Oscar and Lucinda 英语影评

　　
A native of Australia, director Gillian Armstrong has a striking perception of the world outside. From My Brilliant Career to Little Women, she isolates socially awkward characters in a sterile society. Oscar and Lucinda, a story of unrequited love and fixation, is no different.

　　 Set in turn-of-the-century Australia, the focus is on conviction and obsession. A clergyman, Oscar (Ralph Fiennes), and an heiress, Lucinda (Cate Blanchett), are born in different worlds but not dissimilar circumstance. Both are orphans of sorts; both grew up in isolation - he in a small English town, she in Australia's outback; both are naive and ostracized as social square-pegs-in-round-holes; and both are trapped by their love of gambling, one compulsive, the other obsessive.

　　 When these two characters meet, their preoccupation for games unites and then ruins them. The ultimate wager for the couple is a test of faith when Oscar bets he can transport a glass church down a river to a parish in the bush.

　　 Fiennes' scarecrow-ish Oscar is disarming, and his naivet?is annoying. However, Blanchett is radiant and persuasive as Lucinda. Together they are both chaste and passionate. Their enjoyment of and need for companionship is endearing and sorrowful.

　　 Sadly, this film's beauty and potential is lost. Armstrong masterfully personifies the characters' obsession with order and detail, and yet there is no genuine spark. A lack of fire may be due to the film's overt emotional detachment. Based on Peter Carey's novel, the screenplay seems confused in its purpose, rolling from comedic rivalry to tragedy. The narration, told in flashback by Jeffrey Rush (Shine), also distracts, drawing one unnecessarily from the story.

　　 Oscar and Lucinda is not for everyone. It's tragic but hopeful. Tender yet unemotional. Overall, the film is an intricate work where the human spirit is both as strong and delicate as glass.