Why you can trust 12DOVE
French director Pascale Feran plays it straight down the line with this no-frills retelling of DH Lawrence’s erotic succès de scandale. You probably know the drill: the wife (Marina Hinds) of a paralysed entrepreneur is caught between a cock and a hard place when she seeks sexual healing from their salt-of-the-earth gamekeeper (Jean-Louis Coulloc’h). From the off, Feran favours intellectual showboating over subtlety, slathering this poorly paced and cripplingly long film in primitive symbolism, meaningful gazes and pensive longueurs. As a result, he fails to address the fact that this is a lurid, morally ambivalent story which might have benefited from the hand of a more radical provocateur like Catherine Breillat. In the meantime, fans of the book – which wasn’t banned in France – would probably do better sticking with the 1981 Sylvia Kristel muck-athon.
The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine.

Blood of Dawnwalker devs explain how the vampire RPG's "narrative sandbox" builds on what they were "known for crafting" in games like The Witcher 3

Persona and Metaphor: ReFantazio composer's new JRPG gets a Steam Next Fest demo, and it's basically a turn-based Metal Gear Solid

Avowed is nothing like Bethesda's RPGs, but The Elder Scrolls 6 should take inspiration from its combat