Oscar and Lucinda (1997)

66% of critics liked it
(32 reviews)
61% of users liked it
(5,167 ratings)

Australian director Gillian Armstrong directed this Laura Jones adaptation of Peter Carey's 1988 Booker Prize-winning novel. In a lengthy flashback, Oscar Hopkins' great grandson (Geoffrey Rush) narrates the family history that led to his birth. On an Australian farm, Lucinda Leplastrier was tutored… More Australian director Gillian Armstrong directed this Laura Jones adaptation of Peter Carey's 1988 Booker Prize-winning novel. In a lengthy flashback, Oscar Hopkins' great grandson (Geoffrey Rush) narrates the family history that led to his birth. On an Australian farm, Lucinda Leplastrier was tutored by her intelligent mother, a woman who took part in the early feminist movement. Oscar's lonely boyhood in rural England was under the watchful eye of his preacher father. At Oxford to train as a minister, the adult Oscar (Ralph Fiennes) feels he doesn't fit in and develops a passion for gambling, giving his winnings away to the poor. Oscar and Lucinda (Cate Blanchett) meet aboard a ship; he's off to the outback to work as a missionary, and she's returning from London after buying equipment for her glass factory. As mutual misfits, they have an instant attraction and quickly grow close, developing a romantic relationship based on trust. However, the Rev. Dennis Hasset (Ciarán Hinds) and Lucinda are friends, sharing an interest in glass. Convinced they are in love, Oscar embarks on an unusual and difficult task, building a glass church for the reverend, an ambitious project to attempt in the remote wilderness. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 2 hr. 12 min.
Directed By: Gillian Armstrong
Written By: Laura Jones
Genres: Drama, Romance, Art House & International

In Theaters: Dec 31, 1997 Wide
On DVD: Jan 11, 2005
Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Emanuel Levy, Variety
This is after all a Gillian Anderson picture, which means the film's physical production is just as impressive as its spiritual apsiration; Cate Blanchett, in a role originally intended for Judy Davis, is bound to become a major star
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
Fiennes and Blanchett have a special magic and air of giddy humor about them when they are together.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

jay n

Sloooooooow and ponderous.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]"Oscar and Lucinda" is about two young people, Oscar and Lucinda, who start out on opposite sides of the world in the 19th century. They have a mania in common: gambling.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]Oscar(Ralph Fiennes,… More
[font=Century Gothic]"Oscar and Lucinda" is about two young people, Oscar and Lucinda, who start out on opposite sides of the world in the 19th century. They have a mania in common: gambling.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]Oscar(Ralph Fiennes, doing a spot-on impression of Juliet Stevenson) is a troubled divinity student at Oxford. One day, a fellow student drags him to the racecourse and Oscar wins his first bet. He continues to do well with gambling; donating most of what he wins to charity. But terribly wracked with guilt, he chooses missionary work in New South Wales, Australia.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]Lucinda(Cate Blanchett) is an heiress from rural Australia. Almost on a whim, she decides to purchase a glass works with her inheritance. She is introduced to cardplaying by her social acquaintances and is hooked.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"Oscar and Lucinda" is a beautiful, well-made allegorical movie about the debate between a fixed universe and what chance has to play in our lives. Oscar has a firm belief in a higher power but he still gambles. It's a contradiction when he introduces chance into a world he believes has been designed by a higher power. Water has a symbolic part to play in this movie, too. In Christianity, water is seen as a cleansing agent and is used for baptism but Oscar has a raging fear of it due to him associating it with his mother's death. The movie is also helped along by fine support from Tom Wilkinson and Ciaran Hinds. [/font]
Doctor S

Odd, overlong character drama which during the later stages echoes Werner Herzog's <i>Fitzcarraldo</i>. I lost interest in Oscar's decline as he's not really a person who earns much empathy. Cate Blanchett leaves a mark as Lucinda though.
Daisy M

<a href="http://tinypic.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i32.tinypic.com/27yrew0.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a> Oscar and Lucinda, starring Cate Blanchett and Ralph Fiennes.Both are… More
<a href="http://tinypic.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i32.tinypic.com/27yrew0.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a> Oscar and Lucinda, starring Cate Blanchett and Ralph Fiennes.Both are superb actors and i was excited to see them together in a movie. But they would have picked a better one.This movie was so slow and boring that it was not a good choice for their acting career.Simple an odd movie. I can't say more.
Leo L

A fascinating movie.