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By
LESLIE ATWATERS
Oscar Wilde called it "The
love that dare not speak its name." That was
some time ago, but homosexuality -- or rather our
cultural reaction to it -- can still destroy
relationships.
In The Lost Language of Cranes long-kept secrets
trigger an emotional avalanche that threatens to
bury a family: Adapted from David
Leavitt's acclaimed novel, a
son's confession that he is gay inspires his
father, played by Brian Cox, to acknowledge his
own sexuality.
He may still love his wife (Eileen
Atkins) but as he begins to
give in to his deepest urges the relationship
unavoidably degrades through the pain of facing up
to what it's true and what has been a lie.
It's always hard to translate a book of fiction
into a film. Especially when the book can
effortlessly expose the inner worlds of different
characters and the film, restricted as a medium of
action and not reflection, has to cut corners.
Regardless, Leavitt's characters are almost
archetypes, and the acting here is superb: Cox is
dependably great, and Atkins is particularly
splendid in a rather
subtle way that hides repressed rage mixed with
love.
This is a powerful drama that will resonate in its
unflinching portrait of a family coming apart when
a dam of lies is washed away by one man's desire
to liberate his soul. The only extra feature is a
featurette produced during the 1992 filming that
includes comments from Leavitt, the
screenwriter, the director, and members of the
cast and crew. |
