''Oscar and Lucinda'' is a 1997 British-Australian romantic

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by

Gillian Armstrong Gillian May Armstrong (born 18 December 1950) is an Australian feature film and documentary director, who specializes in period drama. Her films often feature female perspectives and protagonists. Many of her movies are historical dramas. E ...

and starring

Cate Blanchett Catherine Elise Blanchett (; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor. Regarded as one of the finest performers of her generation, she is known for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and the stage. She has received n ...

Ralph Fiennes Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes ( ; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. A Shakespeare interpreter, he excelled onstage at the Royal National Theatre before having further success at the Royal Shak ...

Ciarán Hinds Ciarán Hinds (; born 9 February 1953) is an Irish actor. Born in Belfast, Hinds is known for a range of screen and stage roles. He has starred in feature films including '' The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover'' (1989), '' Persuasion'' (1 ...

and Tom Wilkinson. It is based on the 1988

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...

-winning novel '' Oscar and Lucinda'' by Peter Carey. In March 1998, the film was nominated at the 70th

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for the Best Costume Design.

Plot

As a little girl living in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, Lucinda Leplastrier is given a Prince Rupert's Drop which sparks a lifelong obsession with glass. Lucinda's parents die and she is left a wealthy heiress after her guardians sell off the vast farmland that was her family's home. She buys a glass factory with her money and takes to gambling after her accountant introduces her to it. Meanwhile, a young Oscar is being reared as a Plymouth Brother by his father but after receiving a sign from God he decides to join the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

faith. While studying, he is introduced to gambling and becomes highly successful, using his winnings to fund his studies and giving the rest to the poor. He earns a scholarship to study in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. On the boat over, he meets Lucinda and hears her confess to gambling, which he denies is a sin. They play cards together until Oscar becomes panicked at the sight of a storm. In

, Oscar loses his scholarship after he is unable to stop gambling. He goes to live with Lucinda who allows him to work in her glass factory. Inspired by a model of a glass church she shows him, he asks her to make a real life replica to send to their mutual friend the Revered Dennis Hasset, betting that he can deliver it by

Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Holy ...

. Lucinda decides that they will each bet their inheritance. Because he fears water, Oscar takes the church over land in an expedition led by Mr. Jeffries. He witnesses Jeffries murdering and raping

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

and eventually kills him in self-defence after Jeffries attacks him. He is successful in delivering the church. Weakened upon arrival, he is left in the care of a woman named Miriam Chadwick, who rapes him. Fearing that he will have to marry Miriam, and in love with Lucinda, Oscar enters the glass church to pray. He falls asleep and is drowned inside when the church, which was resting on a barge in the water, sinks. As Miriam is pregnant with Oscar's child, Hasset burns the papers confirming the wager, not wanting Lucinda's money to be inherited by her. She dies shortly after her son, Oscar, is born and the child is reared by Lucinda.

Cast

as Oscar Hopkins *

as Lucinda Leplastrier *

as the Reverend Dennis Hasset * Tom Wilkinson as Hugh Stratton * Richard Roxburgh as Mr. Jeffries * Clive Russell as Theophilius *

Bille Brown William Gerald Brown AM (11 January 195213 January 2013) professionally known as Billie Brown was an Australian stage, film and television actor and acclaimed playwright. Early life Brown was born in Biloela, Queensland and studied drama at t ...

as Percy Smith * Josephine Byrnes as Miriam Chadwick *

Barnaby Kay Barnaby Kay (born 9 April 1969) is an English actor who has played roles in television, stage, film and performance art. He was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Personal life Kay was born at St Pancras, London, and is the son of ac ...

as Wardley-Fish * Barry Otto as Jimmy D'Abbs *

Linda Bassett Linda Bassett (born 4 February 1950) is an English actress. Her television credits include Victoria Wood's '' dinnerladies'' (1999), '' Lark Rise to Candleford'' (2008–11), '' Grandma's House'' (2010–12) and '' Call the Midwife'' (2015–pres ...

as Betty Stratton *

Peter Whitford Peter Whitford (born 1939) is an Australian former radio, theatre, television and film character actor known for numerous roles particularly as wealthy businessmen and members of the aristocracy. Peter Whitford was born in Adelaide, South Austr ...

as Mr. Ahearn *

Geoffrey Rush Geoffrey Roy Rush (born 6 July 1951) is an Australian actor. He is known for his eccentric leading man roles on stage and screen. He is among 24 people who have won the Triple Crown of Acting, having received an Academy Award, a Primetime Emm ...

as Narrator * Adam Hayes as Young Oscar * James Tingey as 13 year-old Oscar * Polly Cheshire as Young Lucinda

Production

Gillian Armstrong had long wanted to film Peter Carey's novel but the rights were originally bought for

John Schlesinger John Richard Schlesinger (; 16 February 1926 – 25 July 2003) was an English film and stage director. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for ''Midnight Cowboy'', and was nominated for the same award for two other films ('' Darling'' an ...

. However, after several years they could not come up with a script anyone was happy with; Schlesinger dropped out, Armstrong became involved and she brought in Laura Jones.(4 September 1998)
"Interview with Gillian Armstrong"
''Signis.net''. Retrieved 17 November 2012.

Filming

Filming took place in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

(as well in the

suburbs of

Glebe Glebe (; also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s))McGurk 1970, p. 17 is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved ...

and Randwick) and all around

. Scenes were also filmed in

Hobart, Tasmania Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/ Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

, and some others in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...

, south-west

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

Music

The soundtrack to ''Oscar and Lucinda'' was released by

CBS Masterworks Records Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired by ...

on 9 December 1997 in Australia and the United States, it was recorded by

Thomas Newman Thomas Montgomery Newman (born October 20, 1955) is an American composer and conductor best known for his many film scores. In a career that has spanned over four decades, he has scored numerous films including '' The Player'' (1992); '' The Sh ...

and the Bruckner Orchestra. The soundtrack was completely recorded at Paramount Scoring Stage and at

The Village Recorder The Village (also known as Village Recorders, or the Village Recorder) is a recording studio located at 1616 Butler Avenue in West Los Angeles, California. History The building was built by the Freemasons in 1922 and was originally a Masonic ...

, in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

on 9–30 June 1997. The music from the track “Sydney Harbor” would eventually appear in a teaser trailer for

Wall-E ''WALL-E'' (stylized with an interpunct as ''WALL·E'') is a 2008 American computer-animated science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed and co-written by Andrew Stanton, pro ...

, another movie that

will conduct the score for.

Release

Box office

''Oscar and Lucinda'' grossed $1,768,946 at the box office in Australia, which is equivalent to $2,458,835 in 2009 dollars. The film grossed $4,953,510 between USA, Australia, UK and Germany.

Reception

''Oscar and Lucinda'' received generally positive reviews from critics.

Awards

References

External links

* * * *
''Oscar and Lucinda''
at Oz Movies {{Gillian Armstrong 1997 films Australian romantic drama films British romantic drama films 1990s French-language films Fox Searchlight Pictures films Films directed by Gillian Armstrong Films based on Australian novels Films set in the 19th century Films set in colonial Australia 1997 romantic drama films Films scored by Thomas Newman British historical romance films American romantic drama films Australian historical romance films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films 1990s British films