A review of the classic British film “Darling” (1965)
For many, Britain in the sixties was an exciting place, full of love and liberation, Bond and the Beatles. This film, however, presents a dark view (it was even made in black & white) of the upper middle class of the time and it is a biting satire of the vapid and vacuous lifestyles of people in the upper reaches of fashion, business and media. The clipped dialogue, the casual sex, and the amorality of most of the characters often make for uncomfortable viewing.
It’s surprising that the film was made at all: there was no big American name (the lead male roles were filled by Dirk Bogarde and Laurence Harvey), the central female character was played by a newcomer (it was the first leading role for Julie Christie), while none of the characters is likeable and the ending is thoroughly downbeat. No wonder it struggled to acquire the necessary funding.
And yet it won three Academy Awards and five BAFTAs and its reissue in a restored version after 60 years underlines its status as a classic.
I’ve seen the film at the cinema twice: first shortly after its release and then after its restoration. The homophobia of some of the characters in the film is now rather ironic, given that both Bogarde and Harvey played dashing heterosexuals when in the private life they were gay,. When the titular character, beautiful Diana Scott, marries an Italian Prince and Princess Diana finds herself bored with her life and hounded by the media, today one can’t help thinking of another Diana.
Then and now, the work wreaks of hypocrisy and pretence, so a work to admire rather than like.