- Orlando is the second feature of Sally Potter and is the first great artistic success of a young Tilda Swinton (aged 32 years) in the lead.
- Swinton was coming off her phase and period of work with avant-garde artist and director Derek Jarman – certainly avant-garde is how you can describe not only Orlando but much of career of Swinton (aside from some big blockbusters here and there).
- Swinton plays Orlando- addressing the camera directly. The film is broken up with a series of formal chapter titles marking different times and forms of Orlando– “1600 Death” and “1610 Love” “1650 Poetry” and “1700 Politics” and so on. This is a wildly ambitious work- shapeshifting and time traveling.
- Swinton is not only one of her generation’s most talented actors- but she is also perfectly cast as the “androgynous” (in the text)- David Bowie-like Orlando— “ambiguous sexuality”. Each iteration of Swinton has a new shade of eye color as well.
- Orlando is also memorable for the costume design work from the great Sandy Powell (who also worked with Jarman- but did her best work here, and in Hugo, The Irishman, The Favourite, Interview with a Vampire and Carol).
- A strong painting in snow at the funeral with the line of characters dressed in black at the 13-minute mark
- Swinton’s Orlando breaking the fourth way again saying “a man must follow his heart” is a marvelous commentary on gender politics
- Fade to white in winter as an ellipsis
- Potter has a penchant for fabulous closeups in Orlando and who could blame her with a muse as captivating as Swinton. The only actor shown in closeup actually is Swinton as she stares down the camera complaining about “the treachery of women”.

Potter has a penchant for fabulous closeups in Orlando and who could blame her with a muse as captivating as Swinton
- Peter Greenaway (another British avant-garde auteur) feels like an influence with the symmetrical setting of the frames. Indeed, Greenaway’s go-to production design team- Ben van Os and Jan Roelfs- are Potter’s collaborators on Orlando.

an immaculate cinematic painting
- Tilda in the mirror at the 58-minute mark- “same person- no difference at all- just a different sex”- this is an aspiring undertaking with the seemingly unadaptable Virginia Woolf material.

The “1750 Society” section is Sofia Coppola’s (over a decade prior of course) Marie Antoinette with the manicured interior design.
- Potter’s Camera swings behind Tilda like a pendulum. Orlando is now a woman- and three men discuss women in front of her – Potter uses this shot three times in total- one later with Billy Zane’s character.

The sublime shot of the wide dress between the hedges of the garden maze at the 70-minunte mark
- “1850 sex”—the film then skips the next date/time marker title for The Great War—this is the twentieth century and the title reads “birth” instead.

The handsome white coverings on the exterior of the estate at the 87-minute mark

Potter ends the film brilliantly with one of the greatest stares at the camera this side of The 400 Blows. And this shot choice is set up formally over the entire work.
- A Must-See film
Drake i had a question, and i figured this was as good a place to ask as any. I was wondering what your absolute favourite films are, quality aside, and who some of your favourite directors are?
Also if its not too personal i wanted to ask if you work in the film industry in anyway? Is this page a hobby?
Anyways thanks for the good work as always. This film is now on my watchlist!
@Big chungus- Thank you for the comment. I don’t think I really have “favorite/favourite” films and directors at this point. I think it is pretty much aligned with best. There are some films and filmmakers I revisit more often than others. I’ve seen Goodfellas, The Big Lebowski, American Psycho and a few others many times. And certainly I watch some comedies over and over again just for laughs. Sorry- might not be the answer you’re looking for.
I am not connected with the film industry. I studied film in undergrad and have had a passion all things cinema for over 20 years. Cinema fills up my soul- and it is often the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing I’m thinking about as I go to sleep. So yes- this site is a hobby. I wish I had more time to dedicate to it.
Thankyou. For something that is just a hobby, this site is extremely consistent and expansive. I appreciate this page alot, i check it every morning.
@Big chungus- appreciate it- thank you
“and it is often the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing I’m thinking about as I go to sleep”
♥️♥️♥️ it’s beautiful !!
[…] Orlando – Potter […]
Can Juliette Binoche play Orlando? I think Binoche would be great as Orlando as well.
@M*A*S*H- That’s a tough one for me to picture
But Binoche has an androgynous look. Especially in her earlier films. Don’t you agree?
@MASH- I don’t really I guess- I think she looks a little like julia ormond
I do. Binoche may come off as younger and more playful than Swinton. It’d be a different take but a great one nonetheless. I think Binoche can play a lot of Swinton roles over the years.
@M*A*S*H- I see it in We Need to Talk About Kevin -not a ton else though – and not Orlando.
I was thinking about We Need to Talk About Kevin as well. I don’t see Binoche in Swinton’s more wild more idiosyncratic roles. But I can see Binoche in more straightforward roles like Kevin or The Eternal Daughter or Memoria.
@M*A*S*H- That’s a good distinction – it is one thing to try to picture her in I Am Love– but she’s not replacing Tilda in the collaborations with the Coen Brothers, Wes Anderson or Bong.
You’re right. Swinton’s ghostly appearance helps her case in Kevin as well as her character is a ghost in her present day scenes.
Do you think Binoche can play Celine in Before Trilogy?
P. S. When will you come up with your new page? I think it’s gonna be De Niro.
@M*A*S*H- Binoche as Celine is interesting- yes. I mean I am not recasting it but I could see it. Not sure on the new pages. I’m working on them now but do not have a date for the post yet. Hopefully soon.