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Ralph Fiennes, Cate Blanchett, Ciarán Hinds, Tom Wilkinson, Richard Roxburgh ... see more see more... , Clive Russell , Billie Brown , Josephine Byrnes , Barnaby Kay , Barry Otto , Linda Basssett , Geoffrey Rush

Australian director Gillian Armstrong directed this Laura Jones adaptation of Peter Carey's 1988 Booker Prize-winning novel. In a lengthy flashback, Oscar Hopkins' great grandson (Geoffrey Rush) narra... read more read more...tes the family history that led to his birth. On an Australian farm, Lucinda Leplastrier was tutored by her intelligent mother, a woman who took part in the early feminist movement. Oscar's lonely boyhood in rural England was under the watchful eye of his preacher father. At Oxford to train as a minister, the adult Oscar (Ralph Fiennes) feels he doesn't fit in and develops a passion for gambling, giving his winnings away to the poor. Oscar and Lucinda (Cate Blanchett) meet aboard a ship; he's off to the outback to work as a missionary, and she's returning from London after buying equipment for her glass factory. As mutual misfits, they have an instant attraction and quickly grow close, developing a romantic relationship based on trust. However, the Rev. Dennis Hasset (Ciarán Hinds) and Lucinda are friends, sharing an interest in glass. Convinced they are in love, Oscar embarks on an unusual and difficult task, building a glass church for the reverend, an ambitious project to attempt in the remote wilderness. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Flixster Users

61% liked it

5,167 ratings

Critics

66% liked it

32 critics

R, 2 hr. 12 min.

Directed by: Gillian Armstrong

Release Date: December 31, 1997

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DVD Release Date: January 11, 2005

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Stats: 197 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (197)

  • jjnxn
    September 7, 2008
    jjnxn
    Sloooooooow and ponderous.
  • gator681
    June 20, 2005
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic]"Oscar and Lucinda" is about two young people, Oscar and Lucinda, who start out on opposite sides of the world in the 19th century. They have a mania in common: gambling.[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]Oscar(Ralph Fiennes, doing a... read more spot-on impression of Juliet Stevenson) is a troubled divinity student at Oxford. One day, a fellow student drags him to the racecourse and Oscar wins his first bet. He continues to do well with gambling; donating most of what he wins to charity. But terribly wracked with guilt, he chooses missionary work in New South Wales, Australia.[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]Lucinda(Cate Blanchett) is an heiress from rural Australia. Almost on a whim, she decides to purchase a glass works with her inheritance. She is introduced to cardplaying by her social acquaintances and is hooked.[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]"Oscar and Lucinda" is a beautiful, well-made allegorical movie about the debate between a fixed universe and what chance has to play in our lives. Oscar has a firm belief in a higher power but he still gambles. It's a contradiction when he introduces chance into a world he believes has been designed by a higher power. Water has a symbolic part to play in this movie, too. In Christianity, water is seen as a cleansing agent and is used for baptism but Oscar has a raging fear of it due to him associating it with his mother's death. The movie is also helped along by fine support from Tom Wilkinson and Ciaran Hinds. [/font]
  • DrStrangeblog
    October 2, 2011
    DrStrangeblog
    Odd, overlong character drama which during the later stages echoes Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo. I lost interest in Oscar's decline as he's not really a person who earns much empathy. Cate Blanchett leaves a mark as Lucinda though.
  • mvieaddict
    September 27, 2009
    mvieaddict
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    Oscar and Lucinda, starring Cate Blanchett and Ralph Fiennes.Both are superb actors and i was excited to see them together in a movi... read moree. But they would have picked a better one.This movie was so slow and boring that it was not a good choice for their acting career.Simple an odd movie. I can't say more.
  • ileo
    December 27, 2007
    ileo
    A fascinating movie.
  • amonavis
    August 8, 2011
    amonavis
    Saw it after having read the book, and I got a lot more of the emotional impact of the story from the book. The movie was pretty visually, and I liked Fiennes and Blanchett in their roles, but really didn't feel the full impact on film.
  • PinkMinkPrincess
    June 28, 2011
    PinkMinkPrincess
    Beautiful & Odd Love Story.They both love to Gamble, which leads to their Love Story.He Builds her a Church of Glass & then transports it to the location by Barge.It's a Sadly Poetic Film
  • hossein13
    August 17, 2009
    hossein13
    May 09 - Terrible! Had a hard time watching it to the end. I feel bad why Fiennes and Blanchett play in this.
  • elziard
    January 20, 2008
    elziard
    eccentric is the key word here. I wish the tone was less so. Fiennes and Blanchett are the 19th century Benny and Joon. The film is too aloof for the weight of addiction, murder, and penitance.
  • moviempress
    March 3, 2007
    moviempress
    A look into how the lives of two unlikely people come together through their shared love and obsession for gambling. Through each other they find strength and faith, but it is not without its price. Fiennes and Blanchett are wonderful together.

View All Oscar and Lucinda Reviews

Critic Reviews

Emanuel Levy
December 24, 2006
Emanuel Levy, Variety

This is after all a Gillian Anderson picture, which means the film's physical production is just as impressive as its spiritual apsiration; Cate Blanchett, in a role originally intended for Judy Davis... Full Review

Mike Clark
January 1, 2000
Mike Clark, USA Today

There's a lack of dramatic focus, and the leads fail to evince any particular chemistry.

Michael Dequina
March 31, 2009
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com

Fiennes and Blanchett have a special magic and air of giddy humor about them when they are together. Full Review

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
August 27, 2002
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

Poetic and poignant film about two oddballs who are destined to meet and to fill each other with delight. Full Review

Betty Jo Tucker
August 2, 2002
Betty Jo Tucker, ReelTalk Movie Reviews

After a promising opening, the film meanders so much I thought it would never end. Full Review

James Sanford
January 1, 2000
James Sanford, James Sanford on Film

a beautifully observed, wildly unpredictable period piece that's part bittersweet comedy, part adventure and altogether enchanting. Full Review

Steve Rhodes
January 1, 2000
Steve Rhodes, Internet Reviews

Has trouble creating compelling characters. Full Review

Peter Henne
January 1, 2000
Peter Henne, Film Journal International

Prettiness, yoked to stirring melodramatic material, is simply overburdened with more than it can deliver. Full Review

Lisa Schwarzbaum
September 7, 2011
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

Click to read the article Full Review

Andrew Sarris
April 27, 2007
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

Click to read the article Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Facts

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    • Oscar Hopkins: For years I have gambled and took what I needed and gave the rest to the poor. I gambled for a purpose. There was no sin in what I did. But when I had all my needs paid for, I still could not stop... even when I promised God.
    • Lucinda Leplastrier: We shall make a pact.
    • Oscar Hopkins: We shall?
    • Lucinda Leplastrier: To never gamble again. I promise I shall never invite you to a game of cards or any other form of gambling. And we shall keep it and be friends.
    • Narrator: Oscar had tasted the pudding. It did not taste like the fruit of Satan.
    • Oscar Hopkins: I dare not hope, and yet I must that through this deed I gain your trust.
Submit a Fact | View All

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Oscar and Lucinda Trivia

  • The Missing Charlotte Gray is The Aviator, The Gift of Veronica Guerin from The Shipping News. Elizabeth met Oscar and Lucinda and found An Ideal Husband, he isn't The Talented Mr. Ripley or The Lord of the Rings, he's on The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.  Answer »
  • The English Patient, The Constant Gardener of the land of Wallace and Gromit, reads Schindler's List and finds Oscar and Lucinda. The Red Dragon of Harry Potter signals The End of the Affair.  Answer »
  • Who links: Oscar and Lucinda Mission Impossible: II Van Helsing The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen  Answer »
  • Which film includes the following voice-over narration? "In order that I exist, two gamblers, one obsessive, the other compulsive, must meet."  Answer »
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