This film is currently unavailable
Vita & Virginia
Gemma Arterton and Elizabeth Debicki relive a literary love affair, fiery and forbidden, with a remarkable legacy.
Director: Chanya Button
Overview
It’s 1922, socialite and novelist Vita Sackville-West (a vibrant Gemma Arterton) has set her sights on befriending the writer Virginia Woolf (a pitch perfect Elizabeth Debicki), hoping she can learn how to develop her own writing style and be taken seriously by the literary establishment. But from the moment Vita lays eyes on the sensual movements of a dancing Virginia at one of the Bloomsbury Group’s legendary parties, it’s clear there is more to Vita’s intent than simple friendship. An ardent and blatant seduction begins. Vita makes impulsive gestures to the taciturn and resistant Virginia, her impassioned words finally breaking through Woolf’s defences, which find the acclaimed author giving in to previously unknown desires. But their love, even in this bohemian, polyamorous world, is far from simple. With familial pressures mounting on all sides for both to abandon their affair, it is Virginia who makes the biggest declaration, translating her feelings for Vita into her most celebrated novel, Orlando, ensuring their iconic relationship would be remembered for all time.
Chanya Button (Burn, Burn, Burn) co-wrote the script with Eileen Atkins (who adapted her own stage play, based on the lovers’ letters) and has crafted a beautiful romance featuring two powerful performances, with scenes that crackle with tension and the longing that develops within an all-consuming love affair.
moderate sex, sex references, nudity
Related
The Rules of Attraction The Rules of Attraction
Comedy 2002 111 mins Director: Roger Avary
Exuberant adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis novel, about a group of beautiful, wealthy and self-absorbed students tearing it up at college.
Les Amants du Pont-Neuf Les Amants du Pont-Neuf
Drama 1991 126 mins Director: Léos Carax
A homeless addict (Denis Lavant) and a young painter (Juliette Binoche) with failing eyesight forge a bond on the streets of Paris.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Romance 2019 121 mins Director: Céline Sciamma
Céline Sciamma’s BAFTA-nominated film about the tentative love between a painter and her subject in 18th-century France.
The Deep Blue Sea The Deep Blue Sea
Drama 2011 99 mins Director: Terence Davies
Buried passions boil over in a buttoned-up postwar Britain in Terence Davies acclaimed adaptation of Rattigan's play, starring Rachel Weisz.
Amour Amour
Drama 2012 127 mins Director: Michael Haneke
Michael Haneke’s Palme d’Or-winner, about an octogenarian couple trying to cope when a stroke leaves the wife partly paralysed and speechless.
Student Services Student Services
Drama 2010 103 mins Director: Emmanuelle Bercot
A cash-strapped student becomes an escort exposing the stark realities of economic exploitation in this uncompromising gritty French drama.
The Handmaiden The Handmaiden
Period drama 2016 146 mins Director: Park Chan-wook
Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, Stoker) channels Sarah Waters’ novel Fingersmith, to create a sumptuous twisty psychological thriller full of erotic intrigue.
The Untamed The Untamed
Horror 2016 98 mins Director: Amat Escalante
Amat Escalante follows Heli with a boundary-pushing, mind-blowing mix of sex, sci-fi and social drama.
Beach Rats Beach Rats
Drama 2017 98 mins Director: Eliza Hittman
Gripping account of repressed sexual desire in a masculine environment, with British newcomer Harris Dickinson as a virulently macho Brooklyn teen.
Rafiki Rafiki
Drama 2018 83 mins Director: Wanuri Kahiu
Romantic sparks fly between the daughters of two opposing politicians in Wanuri Kahiu’s neon-bright story of forbidden love in Kenya.
Firebird Firebird
Drama 2021 107 mins Director: Peeter Rebane
At the height of the Cold War, a love triangle between a junior officer, his best friend and a handsome fighter pilot enters dangerous territory.
Shinjuku Boys Shinjuku Boys
Documentary 1995 54 mins Director: Kim Longinotto and Jano Williams
Tender fly-on-the-wall documentary depicting the daily lives of three Japanese 'onnabe' who work as hosts in a Tokyo nightclub.
Menus-Plaisirs Les Troisgros Menus-Plaisirs Les Troisgros
Documentary 2023 240 mins Director: Frederick Wiseman
Frederick Wiseman’s gastronomic dream of a film captures daily life in one of the world’s most prestigious restaurants.
Titicut Follies Titicut Follies
Documentary 1967 84 mins Director: Frederick Wiseman
Frederick Wiseman’s unflinching debut shows life inside an institution for the criminally insane, voted one of the greatest documentaries of all time.
Multi-Handicapped Multi-Handicapped
Documentary 1987 126 mins Director: Frederick Wiseman
A compassionate portrait of students at the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind, directed by Frederick Wiseman.
Ex Libris: The New York Public Library Ex Libris: The New York Public Library
Documentary 2017 206 mins Director: Frederick Wiseman
An immersive journey into the New York Public Library with great documentarian Frederick Wiseman.
Welfare Welfare
Documentary 1975 167 mins Director: Frederick Wiseman
Frederick Wiseman’s remarkable glimpse into the Kafkaesque nature of New York’s welfare system.
Central Park Central Park
Documentary 1990 177 mins Director: Frederick Wiseman
A fascinating portrait of the comings and goings, and the people involved in maintaining Manhattan’s iconic green space.