The excellent leads lift this fitfully handsome adaptation of DH Lawrence’s forbidden classic
There’s enough of a spark between Emma Corrin, playing Lady Constance Chatterley, and Jack O’Connell, as smouldering gamekeeper Oliver Mellors, to fuel a sizeable chunk of the national grid. Which is why it’s surprising that the many breathlessly urgent sex scenes in this handsome adaptation of DH Lawrence’s novel seem a little underpowered – a combination of a weirdly unappealing blueish tone to the grade and the agitated camerawork loses some of the erotic tension. It’s a pity, because elsewhere the film is impressive: there’s a feverish wildness to Corrin’s performance, while O’Connell unleashes the full force of his considerable charisma.
• In cinemas now and on Netflix from 2 December
