Week 13: Barry Lyndon
-A duel in the countryside
Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon is one of the great dramas of the twentieth century; the master's most under-appreciated work.
The seemingly picaresque tale of Barry Lyndon is quite simple. The film tells the story of the life of Redmond Barry, a poor Irish rogue that, through a mixture of deceit and chance, manipulates his way into the highest reaches of the British Aristocracy in the late 18th Century. The timeframe is between The Seven Years War and the French and American Revolutions. The three-hour long picture is broken down into two parts, making the movie appropriate for multiple-night viewing.
Part I: By what means Redmond Barry acquired the style and title of Barry Lyndon
In this section, the viewer observes Barry (Ryan O’Neal) from a incestuous youth to the turning point in his life- the marriage of him and Lady Lyndon (Marisa Berenson), cementing his fortune and prosperity.
Barry is madly in love with his cousin, Nora Brady (Gay Hamilton) at the beginning of the film. The family is broke and Nora and Barry are sitting on a quiet afternoon one day, where she offers him her handkerchief, which during this period is a great sign of love- an offering. It is unclear whether Nora and Barry have sex at this point, but Barry’s relationship with Nora will help shape his actions throughout the rest of the picture. Nora is courted by the English Captain John Quinn (Leonard Rossiter) who, as an officer and a nobleman, will ensure the family’s financial freedom for the next foreseeable generation. Nora immediately begins to react to Quinn and it is clear that they will be married, if not out of love, then out of purely opportunistic financial reasons. This angers Barry to the breaking point, even causing him to break a glass over Quinn’s head before challenging him to a duel. Barry wins the duel, but Nora will have nothing else to do with him, and Barry must flee.
These early scenes help put the remainder of the film in context. Nora dismisses what may be true love for financial gain, and puts avarice above all other values in her life- as does Barry. From the point Barry leaves his home he is a pure opportunist, only looking for ways to better himself. He joins the military for its salary (as well as the hopes of becoming an officer) but then flees during his first battle. Barry impersonates an English Officer, takes advantage of a lonely German woman, cheats at cards, fabricates his identity, and eventually becomes a double agent of sorts for the Prussian military. The Prussians want him to spy on the Chevalier de Balibari (Patrick McGee), who they suspect is not French at all, but Irish. They assume correct, of course, and Barry double crosses the Prussians and joins the Chevalier. Together, Barry and the Chevalier partner together for many years, cheating at cards and infiltrating the British Aristocracy. It is at this point when Barry meets Lady Lyndon, a veritable gold mine with an invalid, dying husband and a small child. He seduces Lyndon, enrages her husband to the point he has a heart attack, and swoops in after her husband’s death to marry the lady and become the noble Barry Lyndon.
-The height of aristocracy
Part II: Containing an Account of the Misfortunes and Disasters Which Befell Barry Lyndon
From the intermission onwards, we see the real Barry Lyndon; cruel, greedy, manipulative. His marriage to the Lady obviously a sham, Barry womanizes housekeepers and widows, even partaking in the occasional orgy without his wife. Barry allows his mother (Marie Kean) to move into the mansion. Barry’s mother does nothing but further deepen Barry’s avarice. While Barry and Lady have Brian (a child of their own) there is also Lord Bullington (Leon Vitali), the lady’s oldest son. Bullingdon sees right through Barry for the gold-digger he is and renounces him as a father. Barry is cruel to his stepson, beating him mercilessly with a cane when he disobeys and eventually, after he grows into a man, humiliating him to the point where he flees the mansion. This whole time, Barry is desperately spending the Lyndon fortune bribing British nobility in order to attempt to gain a title. Without a title, you see, Barry will not inherit any of the Lyndon fortune (all of the wealth would pass to Lord Bullington). His noble peers begin to see Barry for what he is when Barry publicly beats Lord Bullington at a quiet country brunch, and want nothing to do with him. Barry’s son dies from falling off of a horse; Barry and the Lady plunge into depression, and their debts come calling. Barry loses a duel to Lord Bullington, is forced to have his leg amputated, and leaves the country in exile.
The screenplay by Kubrick, based on the novel The Luck of Barry Lyndon by William Makepeace Thackeray, uses unreliable narrator to tell the story objectively. This is an intentional, creative choice by Kubrick- the novel itself was told in the first person. Kubrick does this so that the narrator (Michael Hordern) can exist outside of space and time. The narrator knows the entire story before telling it, and gives the audience hints on what is to come. Much of the satire in the picture comes from the narrator’s musings. Furthermore, one could argue that the narrator is the most human and relatable character is all of Barry Lyndon, relating to the audience in passages that are almost profound in their truth:
“It is well to dream of glorious war in a snug armchair at home, but it is a very different thing to see it first hand. And after the death of his friend, Barry's thoughts turned from those of military glory to those of finding a way to escape the service to which he was now tied for another six years. Gentlemen may talk of the age of chivalry, but remember the ploughmen, poachers and pickpockets whom they lead. It is with these sad instruments that your great warriors and kings have been doing their murderous work in the world.”
In his film, Stanley Kubrick has created a unique directorial vision. Each sequence is impeccably staged, with shots frequently starting at the point of interest and then slowly zooming out so that we can see a God’s eye view of what is going on. Scenes are slow and deliberate- making Barry Lyndon at times seem like one of the longest and slowest motion pictures ever made (it is a good idea to watch the film in two sittings, Part I one night, Part II the second). Once again, this is a deliberate, bold choice. By slowing down the action we get a better feel for what life was truly like in the 18th century. Mannerisms and ritual were everything during this time period. Things as simple as a shoot out, which in a modern film would last a matter of minutes, are stretched out to ten and fifteen minutes in the film. By doing this, Kubrick allows the tension to build. We begin to realize how completely absurd the rituals are.
- Romanticism in film form
There is no denying that Barry Lyndon is one of the most beautifully photographed motion pictures ever created. Each scene is basically a painting in its own right- yet another reason for the films slow and deliberate pace. Kubrick wants us to take in the scenic beauty of each shot. Filters are used to great effect- when viewing Barry Lyndon one feels as if they are traveling through the Romanticism section of an art museum. The beautiful cinematography by John Alcott won an Academy Award. Kubrick and Alcott worked together to stage each scene. Filming was delayed so that scenes could be shot only at the optimum time of day. Kubrick referenced many classical paintings for his shots, wanting the picture to look as much like classical art as possible. The paintings of Thomas Gainsborough specifically had a large influence to the way Kubrick and Alcott directed the outdoor scenes. The delays in shooting the outdoor scenes, as well as Kubrick’s obsessive directorial style (he would take hundreds of takes) helped make Barry Lyndon the longest production in history at the time. The film shot for over 300 days, in a span of over 2 years. This record would later be broken by only 2 other films- Kubrick’s The Shining and Eyes Wide Shut.
-The work of Thomas Gainsborough was a large influence on Kubrick’s filming style
More impressive than the outdoor shots were the indoor shots. All of Kubrick’s films have a large degree of technical innovation, from the brilliant effects in 2001: A Space Odyssey, to the invention of the steadicam in The Shining. None however, were more difficult that the work done in Barry Lyndon. Kubrick and Alcott created specific cameras that would allow filming to be done without any artificial light- creating the ability to shoot entire sequences in candlelight. Any photographer will tell you that lighting is everything in staging a shot- and the fact that Kubrick was able to shoot entire sequences in nothing but candlelit is nothing short of a major technological milestone. Specific lenses were purchased from NASA to shoot the candlelit scenes- the same types of lenses that were used in the filming of the Apollo 11 space landing. To this date, Kubrick has used the largest aperture in film history (F 0, 7), making the indoor scenes just as beautiful as those outdoors, while truly representing what living in the time period would look like. The lack of artificial light sources also protected the many castles, rooms and historic areas in which Kubrick filmed.
-NASA lenses were used to film scenes in nothing but candlelight
All of Kubrick’s films use classical music, and Barry Lyndon is no exception. Most prominent is the main title music, George Frideric Handel’s Sarabande from the Suite in D minor HWV 437. Mozart and Bach are also used to great effect in many of the scenes. Once again, Kubrick’s use of music allows the viewer to experience the picture as an objective outsider. The music is familiar and the movie’s slow pace plays at times like a ballet. We walk through the museum of the film with a soundtrack.
The performances are all inherently Kubrickian (cold, emotionless). Ryan O’ Neil and Marisa Berenson play the Lyndon’s with the personalities of a still life. The narrator is the only character in the film that is really ever a character. This is all on purpose. We are not supposed to like these people, on see them for what they are. Greed has made them cold, ritual has made them boring. They have nothing but nice things- any love or passion. The only true emotion ever displayed by Barry is at the loss of his child, and one could argue that this loss may have been a good thing; after all, the world did not need another Barry at that time. One can be critical of the acting, but it is all the basis of the director’s desires. Kubrick is not known for his compassion towards actors, and his movies are never about performances, but moods, visions, and themes. In his entire catalogue the most human characters were the killer HAL 9000 from 2001 and Alex, the droog with a love for rape, ultra-violence and Beethoven from A Clockwork Orange.
The film was received with a cool enthusiasm. Every Kubrick film was an event, every critic and lover of the film expected a masterpiece upon first viewing. These expectations set up initial reactions to all Kubrick films for failure. The picture was a box office bomb in the United States, but did earn back its budget in the world box office. Nonetheless, it was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Direction and Best Screenplay. The film won 4, for Art Direction, Music, Costume Design and Cinematography. All of Kubrick’s films gain more respect as time goes on, and now Barry Lyndon is considered (along with 2001) one of Kubrick’s greatest accomplishments.
Kubrick sees the world as a chess game; with humans scampering from one side of the board (birth) to the other (death) trying to win (wealth, self actualization) a prize that is short lived, until the next game starts. Once one realizes this vision, this interpretation of humanity, it becomes clear that Barry Lyndon may be the director’s best work at examining the human struggle. There are few things in film more profound than the epilogue of this picture.
“It was in the reign of George the III that the above named personages lived and quarreled; good or bad, handsome or ugly, rich or poor, they are all equal now.”
In the end, I think Kubrick is trying to show us the futility of greed- it is this that Barry Lyndon creates a universal message. The vanity of the 18th century is still alive in well, and the story could be that of a stockbroker, imperialist, actor, womanizer, prostitute, terrorist, or President. In the end, everyone is equal. This is a human tale. One can learn a great deal by listening to the tale of Redmond Barry, who once was Barry Lyndon.
Review and Analysis by Shaun Henisey
Cast and Credits:
Redmond Barry: Ryan O'Neil
Lady Lyndon: Marisa Berenson
The Chevalier: Patrick McGee
Warner Bros pictures presents A Stanley Kubrick Production. Based on the Novel by Wiliam Makepeace Thackeray.
Cinematography by John Alcott. Music by Leonard Rosenman (including Handel, Schubert, J.S.Bach, Mozart and Vivaldi). Written, produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick.
Running Time: 184 minutes. Rated PG. (Adult Themes, Mild Violence)