Six decades since it first scandalised cinema-goers, ‘Darling' is back with a vengeance with a limited theatrical release and a brand new 4K restoration on 4K UHD and Blu-ray.
Iconic British director John Schlesinger's film encapsulates London in the Swinging Sixties. The capital city is a great place to be young and carefree.
Enter Diana Scott (Julie Christie in Oscar-winning form), an ambitious and hedonistic model. Bookish documentary-maker and family man Robert Gold (Dirk Bogarde) gives Diana her big break on television. Following an affair, he leaves his family and they move in together. But there's a restlessness in Diana's heart. Happiness and contentment never linger. Boredom sets in. The beautiful Diana has no problem attracting men. Wealthy advertising executive Miles Brand (Laurence Harvey) furthers Diana's career beyond anything Gold can offer her. Yet Miles is cold, cynical and perhaps even less inclined to fidelity than Diana.
‘Darling' uses a picaresque storytelling technique. We follow Diana on a great adventure through her love life, meeting the men who play a part in it along the way. Some stick around for longer than others. While hearts are broken, friendships are made. Notably, one sequence sees Diana head to sunny Capri with her gay best friend Malcolm (Roland Curram). They enjoy a dalliance with hot young Italian waiter Gino (Dante Posani).
Like many of John Schlesinger's films, ‘Darling' is well ahead of its time. Not least for its portrayal of a gay supporting character who is perfectly normal, good at charming men, and not full of angst or suffering from any psychosis (and what a lovely performance by Roland Curram).
The buzz at the time was around Julie Christie. Schlesinger had worked with her previously in ‘Billy Liar' and she had just hit the big time starring opposite Omar Sharif in David Lean's epic ‘Doctor Zhivago'. It's easy to see why she won the Best Actress Oscar for ‘Darling'. Whilst Diana Scott is in many ways an unlikeable character – she is vain, manipulative and uses people – she is also a strong female lead. Christie has the emotional intelligence and depth of talent to make Diana always interesting and magnetic. She's a little like Scarlett O'Hara, the heroine of ‘Gone With the Wind' – impulsive and not always pleasant but she keeps us on side through the sheer strength of her personality.
The men in the movie are excellent too, though the focus remains on Diana. Dirk Bogarde had shaken off his matinee idol image by the 1960s. In the first years of the decade he had appeared in a few art house classics. His career almost didn't recover from ‘Victim', in which he played a married barrister blackmailed over a homosexual relationship. He had just given perhaps his career-best performance in Joseph Losey's ‘The Servant'. His starring role in ‘Darling' helped to cement his reputation as not just a pretty face but a fine character actor. Laurence Harvey, whom I've often found hit and miss, has warmed on me in recent years. There's a lot I like about his portrayal of the oily, self-confident Miles Brand. His early death was certainly a loss to the profession.
Fans of British actors of the era won't be disappointed. There are many familiar faces in rotation throughout ‘Darling'. This includes Brian Wilde (Foggy in ‘Last of the Summer Wine'), TR Bowen (‘Edge of Darkness') and James Cossins, who was in just about everything.
At times an uncomfortable film, ‘Darling' exposes the vacuousness of celebrity culture and the narcissism that goes along with a compulsive desire for success. In the most chilling scene, it also bluntly covers abortion as an answer to giving up fun and the quest for fame. Although kitchen sink dramas were all the rage at the time, it's the glamorous and often sunlit backdrop of ‘Darling' that provides the juxtaposition for Schlesinger's satire. It relies on location filming too, which provides authenticity for Schlesinger's modern directorial techniques.
Not every question is answered. For example, why is Diana Scott narrating her life story? Who is she talking to? Perhaps most intriguingly, it's the moral questions that remain oblique. Audiences are allowed to make up their own minds. Who is to blame for the failed relationships? Which character behaves the worst? Which ones deserve their fate? Schlesinger's amoral world doesn't take sides.
Ultimately, ‘Darling' probably isn't Schlesinger's greatest work, but then he directed masterpieces such as ‘Midnight Cowboy', ‘Marathon Man', ‘Far From the Madding Crowd' and ‘Sunday, Bloody Sunday', amongst others. It is, in any analysis, a fine piece of cinema and a British film classic. It stands the test of time as a story that remains compelling and even, still, at times shocking.
The new 4K restoration is fantastic. The sharp black and white print looks remarkably crisp and fresh, and the sound quality is clear. Much love and attention has gone into breathing new life into ‘Darling'. This new release from Studiocanal is the best way to enjoy the film.
Sofia Coppola, the director of classics such as ‘Lost in Translation' and ‘Marie Antoinette', provides a new introduction, explaining what the film has meant to her and how Schlesinger's techniques for conveying the passage of time have informed her own work. There's also a fifteen-minute interview with Frederic Raphael, who won an Oscar for the movie's screenplay, that can be seen for the first time. The final new featurette is with costume designer Julie Harris, who recalls the fashions she provided, including the memorable dresses that Julie Christie wore so radiantly. With so many of the cast and crew no longer with us, it's welcome to hear these first-hand reminiscences. Thankfully, the work of many top talents remains to be enjoyed by new audiences. If you've never been dazzled by ‘Darling' before, this 60th anniversary edition is the perfect opportunity to join Diana Scott and become swept up in her world.
Cast: Julie Christie, Dirk Bogarde, Laurence Harvey, Roland Curram, José Luis de Vilallonga Director: John Schlesinger Writer: Frederic Raphael Certificate: 15 Duration: 127 mins Released by: Studiocanal Release date: 16th June 2025 Buy ‘Darling'
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