Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here.

I'm sure many of you more scholarly types are aware that there were actually three versions of the Lady Chatterley story written by D.H. Lawrence, including the notorious Lady Chatterley's Lover and the lesser-known second version John Thomas and Lady Jane, which this film was based upon. (I believe the third book was called Lady Chatterley Conquers the Martians.) The Chatterley character has been rendered all but unrecognizable in a string of bastardized softcore films, which is why this award-winning French adaptation by Pascale Ferran is such a treat. Yes, it's nearly three hours long; but it's a sumptuous sexual epic that isn't nearly as scandalous as you've heard but still manages to pack an emotional punch.

Marina Hands (The Barbarian Invasions) take on Constance Chatterley is of a woman who has accepted her role as a dutiful early-20th-century wife to a husband to Clifford (Hippolyte Girardot) wounded in battle and fated to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. The pair had only been married a short time before he went to war, and so her chance to finally open up sexually was never fulfilled. She spends much of her luxurious life passing the time with boring hobbies, with little or not conversation with he husband. She's not some bitchy horny housewife running to the bed of every many she meets; that's the legend. Constance is aware of her place in society and that a scandal or anything perceived as bad behavior is to be avoided.

It is around this time that she begins to look at the estate's gamekeeper Parkin (Jean-Loius Coulloc'h), certainly not the most handsome, strapping, or young man on the property, but a real man nonetheless, who needs are simple but still seems very much in touch with his emotional side. Constance first sees his humble shack at the far end of the estate as a place to rest and take a break from the world to appreciate nature, but when she actually begins to have conversations with Parkin, a true emotional bond begins to form. Parkin, frankly, doesn't trust her intentions, which begin harmless enough. Before long, the two are mixing it up on the floor.

The sex scenes in Lady Chatterley begin as clumsy and awkward. There's nothing particularly erotic about them. That being said, a true coital awakening is clearly taking shape, and it's kind of exciting to watch a repressed woman suddenly say, "Oh, that's what it's supposed to be like!" and do so convincingly. The film isn't particularly precious about its subject matter. It's a bodice-buster that attempts to add realism to its situations and refrains from soft focus love making and swelling music. What's also thrilling about the film is that we see this couple grow and fall in love and get slightly experimental in their sexual adventures. (Sex with the candles lit: shocking!) There's still plenty of tasty nudity to keep the raincoat crowd awake, but Lady Chatterley's main concern is making us understand Connie's circumstances and, yes, even justify her infidelity. There's even a strange scene with her and her husband in which he makes it clear he wants a male heir if only to prove to his acquaintances that his plumbing still works. Although there's no indication that he knows anything about the affair, the implication is that he would condone her sleeping with another man for the right reasons.

Led by a handful of very strong performances and an epic love story that finally gets the cinematic treatment is richly deserves, Lady Chatterley is surprisingly strong and moving as a drama and as a story of two people who so clearly deserve each other, whose minds seem so in sync that they were perhaps even destined to be together.

There's a great comfort, easiness, and dignity to the film that I found most welcome. The film is stealthily making its way into art houses across the country, opening here in Chicago on Friday at the Music Box Theatre. This is one worth seeking out, folks.

Capone