Julie Christie stars as the immensely charming Darling.
married, she falls hard for television interviewer Robert (Dirk Bogarde), and their .
friendship blossoms into a full-blown affair that has each of them leaving there .
spouses in order to move in together. But Darling is far from done she goes .
through a series of men on her way to the top, which is not quite what she .
expected it to be. Schlesinger deals with key ideas such as superficiality, reality .
and pretence, conventional and unconventional living and in particular .
Ephemera. It captures 1960s London like few other films could. The reaction to .
the British New Wave movement, which was strong in the sixties, is clear in the .
film, especially in relation to realism, sexuality and the role of women in society.
The film starts with Christie's eye in extreme close-up on the camera, the eye .
is supposed to be the window into the soul but as we find out for Diana, this is .
not so, "A lie can be shown with integrity, just like anything else". Diana Scott .
(Christie) is against conforming to societies conventions. She has freedom with .
no responsibility, lacks morals and stability and as a result finds herself unable to .
settle down to any kind of life. Her major setback is she takes on the lives and .
personalities of those around her, always trying to be what it is she feels others .
want her to be. She cannot find herself by not taking on any of her own .
characteristics and personality so she is unable to realise what it is she is striving .
for. Her role in the film is largely that of a model and small-time actress, which .
is in essence all she ever is. She wears clothes to project a certain surface .
image and constantly acts for an audience, superficially, what she looks like .
matches that of what she is trying to be, never being true to herself, except when .
alone.
Her only real wish is to be happy, "It should be easy to be happy, shouldn't it, .