164. The Laureate; movie review

 

THE LAUREATE

Cert 15

103 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong sex, sex references

Oo'er. those arty types enjoy a bit of free love, don't they?

But in The Laureate it becomes apparent that they really can have too much of a good thing.

This is a loose recreation of the whirlwind which surrounds poet Robert Graves (Tom Hughes) after he returns from action in the First World War.

As he struggles with post-traumatic stress and for his writing to be taken seriously by peers such as Siegfried Sassoon, he seeks the "mentorship" of American writer Laura Riding (Dianna Agron).

This becomes an obsession that affects his mental health as well as his marriage to the lovely but rather less intense Nancy (Laura Haddock).

William Nunez's film is rare in that it is about sex but contains no nudity.

Indeed, because it plays with the imagination, it is more erotic than films which are awash with private parts.

Agron's Laura is especially naughty, tempting unlikely folk into all sorts of hanky-panky and then juggling with their emotions when they become besotted.

Graves is so besotted he will do anything for her but dangers lurk within such devotion.

The Laureate has its moments and its premise had promise but it fails to land heavy punches. This is partly down to it being too flowery and the actors not having quite the gravitas required.

It would have been interesting to see how an A-list cast would have translated the material.

Reasons to watch: Erotic in parts

Reasons to avoid: Too flowery

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 6/10

Did you know? Robert Graves is best remembered for his 1929 memoir Goodbye to All That, about his experience fighting in the First World War, and his 1934 novel I, Claudius, set in ancient Rome.

The final word. William Nunez: The Laureate has been a long-gestating project of mine. The genesis of it started back in the ’90s. Robert Graves was always my favourite writer, mainly because as a kid I would watch I, Claudius, which was shown on public television once a year." Film Obsessive

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