Starring: Angelina Jolie, Antonio Banderas
Director: Michael Cristofer
Rated: MA15+
DURING World War II, Gainsborough Studios in London made a series of full-on melodramas, ‘bodice-rippers’ which combined mad romantic love, violent and sexual passion, sinister Gothic intrigues, and dialogue which sounded particularly artificial.
Audiences loved the sensational plots. Original Sin is an attempt to revive these melodramas, 21st century style.
The action is set in Cuba in 1880, which means exotic tropical locations, Hispanic architecture and decor, lavish and colourful costumes.
Antonio Banderas is smouldering as a rich plantation owner who marries a mail-order bride from America, played to the hilt by Angelina Jolie. Needless to say – because this is what we have learned to expect – she is a femme fatale, a temptress, who wreaks havoc with love and fortune. The trouble with this kind of melodrama is that audiences tend to expect plot, characters and dialogue which seem to be realistic even if they are not.
