The Great Affair

Author(s): Chris P. (IL)
The Great Affair

Directed by Stephen Frears
Screenplay by Tom Stoppard
Cinematography by Newton Thomas Sigel
Edited by Pietro Scalia
Music by Howard Shore

Main Cast

Clive Owen as Richard Burton
Catherine Zeta-Jones as Elizabeth Taylor
Harry Connick, Jr. as Eddie Fisher
Emily Watson as Sybil Burton

Tagline: "Their lives were all but a scene."

Synopsis: It's the glamorous scene of 1960's Hollywood. 20th Century Fox's highly anticipated film, "Cleopatra" is suffering from a heap of negative press. First, the movie nearly bankrupt the studio because of its extremely high budgeting price and second, the off-screen love affair between co-stars, Elizabeth Taylor (Jones) and Richard Burton (Owen), is causing a tremendous amount of chaos and has created an international scandal that the public, media, paparazzi, and tabloid magazines are devouring with pleasure.

For Liz and Richard, their love was a way of finding admiration away from home. He was married to his long time wife, Sybil (Watson), and she was wed to her former co-star and companion during the death of her last husband, Eddie Fisher (Connick, Jr.). Once news breaks about their extramarital activities on the set of their film, it damages their marriages, their reputations, and even their own relationship. Sybil, who is devastated over her husband's unfaithfulness, leaves him. This leads Richard to become dependent on alcohol and causes him to repeatedly call off his relationship with Liz so he could reunite with his estranged wife. Elizabeth, who is rushed to the hospital with food poisoning, is confronted by Eddie who wants to reconcile with her but is unsure on how to forgive her.

But soon, Liz and Richard are back together and are married a year later. Their marriage, however, is plagued with many tempestuous set backs. Richard begins to lose credibility as a respected stage actor and becomes more unstable as his drinking and insomnia gets worse, Liz starts to gain weight as her indulgences for food and liquor grows ,which makes her an ideal target for the press, and their constant bitter fighting and arguments leads to a divorce and finally to an unsuccessful reconciliation. "The Great Affair" is the spectacular story about two of cinema's greatest actors, their complicated relationship, and the personal demons they had to face.

What the Press Would Say:

"The Great Affair", the latest from Academy Award-nominated director, Stephen Frears ("The Queen"), is a masterful Hollywood epic done to perfection. Telling the story of two of Hollywood's greatest icons and their tumultuous romance would have been a failure if done by any other director at the helm. But Frears succeeds by capturing the true nature of this famous couple's relationship and really digs deep into the personal struggles they had to face. The screenplay written by Tom Stoppard ("Shakespeare in Love") is just as impressive. Stoppard ignores the usual biopic clichés and gives these characters real depth and humanism. Technically speaking, this film looks fantastic. The viewer really feels the enchanting atmosphere of the era and what it must have been like for these characters to live during this time. The amazing performances are definitely worth recognizing as well. Oscar winner, Catherine Zeta-Jones, probably delivers the most risky and challenging performance of her career playing the fabulous Elizabeth Taylor. Jones gives her best work since "Chicago". She perfectly captures Elizabeth's essence. The glamor, the drama, the larger than life persona, it's all there and done in such a magnificent way.

Academy-Award nominee, Clive Owen, stars as Richard Burton. Owen manages to steal every scene he's in. He superbly portrays the legendary but troubled actor with an incredible amount of intensity and shows the real misery this man had to face while up against the public and his life. The supporting performances by Harry Connick, Jr. and Oscar nominated Emily Watson really make a lasting impression. Connick, Jr. plays Eddie Fisher, Liz Taylor's supportive husband who only wants to be with his wife but is frustrated by all the media attention her affair is getting him in. He does a phenomenal job at portraying a man who loved his wife but was unsure on how to accept her betrayal. Emily Watson portrays Sybil Burton, Richard's heartbroken wife who leaves her husband after he does the unthinkable to her. Watson creates a character that is sympathetic yet strong at the same time. It's extraordinary work. Overall, "The Great Affair" should be called one of the best films of the year. It's stunning performances, directing, writing, and technicals are all top notch and the film does a riveting job at showing what it was like for the people involved in this sensational Hollywood affair.

Awards Consideration

Best Picture
Best Director - Stephen Frears
Best Actor - Clive Owen
Best Actress - Catherine Zeta-Jones
Best Supporting Actor - Harry Connick, Jr.
Best Supporting Actress - Emily Watson
Best Original Screenplay
And In All Technical Categories