Lorna Doone
starring Clive Owen, Polly Walker & Sean Bean

     Out of the windswept, fog-shrouded moors of England emerge two riders. A man and a boy. Father and son. Another group of riders, the dastardly Doone clan, appear with a young girl in tow. The father and son dismount, shoo away their horses, then lay low on the crest of a hill. The young girl jumps from the saddle of her abductor and runs in the direction of the two concealed observers. As one captor rides the girl down, the boy jumps to his feet 'Leave her alone!' His father stands beside him. The little girl's captors, led by the villainous Carver Doone (Sean Bean), ignore their pleas. The father strikes one of the Doones and Carver shoots him. The boy tries to escape and is caught. He and the girl he tried to protect, are at the mercy of the Doones.

     Thus is the prologue to the rousing period adventure Lorna Doone, based on the novel by R. D. Blackmore.

     Clive Owen (rumoured to be the next James Bond when Pierce Brosnan abdicates) plays John Ridd, the child now grown to adulthood, who harbours a deep hatred for the Doone clan for murdering his father. A chance encounter with the stunningly beautiful Lorna Doone (Polly Walker) puts him in a dilemma. He hates the Doones but loves Lorna. Oh, what's a guy to do?

     This 1990 British TV film is beautifully shot on gorgeous locations, with loving attention given to period detail (Jacobean, early 1600s). For one thing, it rains a lot. Yes, this is England. People don't walk through the mud, they slog.

     Clive Owen has a tendency to underplay, which in an heroic part is risky. Heroes need all the colour they can muster, especially when the chief villain is as wondrously played as Sean Bean's Carver Doone. Sean Bean is perhaps best known as Sharpe, the hero of the 14 feature-length episode Sharpe's series. He is thoroughly believable in period pieces, something most Hollywood pretty boys have a hard time with. Bean isn't afraid to look greasy and mean; he's still ruggedly handsome and, though playing the villain, manages to appeal.

     Excellent supporting actors include Billie Whitelaw, Robert Stephens, Hugh Fraser and Miles Anderson. While Owen's John Ridd could be a tad livelier, this fine production is still a wonderful re-telling of this time-honoured classic.

     There are some excellent battle scenes and the period feel is observed throughout. No inappropriate contemporary touches ruin the film as they most surely would in a Hollywood version. The director eschews extraneous, annoying camera movements for a clean, almost simplistic narrative. No annoying 'whoosing' sounds interfere with the sword play.

     This is rollicking, old-fashioned adventure told with taste and fidelity to the source material.

     Polly Walker-did I mention that she is stunningly beautiful?-makes totally believable the romantic heart of the story.

     This beautiful film works on all levels: as Period film, Romance, Adventure Story and Adapted Literature. Bean is brilliant, Owen is quietly competent and Walker is all you could want in a romantic heroine. And she is stunningly beautiful. Didn't I mention that already?

     I highly recommend this fine production, available on video from a variety of sources.

Jon Ted Wynne