The French Lieutenant's Woman (film) The French Lieutenant's Woman (film) The French Lieutenant's Woman is a 1981 British romantic drama film directed by Karel Reisz, produced by Leon Clore, and adapted by playwright Harold Pinter. It is based on the eponymous 1969 novel by John Fowles. The music score is by Carl Davis and the cinematography by Freddie Francis. The film stars Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons. Other featured actors include Hilton McRae, Peter Vaughan, Colin Jeavons, Liz Smith, Patience Collier, Richard Griffiths, David Warner, Alun Armstrong, Penelope Wilton, and Leo McKern. The film received five Academy Award nominations. Streep was nominated for the Academy
The French Lieutenant's Woman the function of the novel, saying Throughout the essay, Fowles describes multiple influences and issues important to the novel's development, including his debt to other authors such as Thomas Hardy. In the essay, he describes surprise that the female character Sarah had taken the primary role in the novel. Later Fowles described other influences shaping the characters development, noting that the characters and story of "The French Lieutenant's Woman" were loosely derived from Claire de Duras's 1823 novel "Ourika," which features a tragic affair between an African woman and French military man. Fowles later published a 1977 translation of "Ourika"