Taglines: One woman’s story. Every woman’s fear.
The Handmaid’s Tale movie storyline. Set in a Fascistic future America, The Handmaid’s Tale tells the story of Kate, a handmaid. In this America, the religious right has taken over and gone hog-wild. Kate is a criminal, guilty of the crime of trying to escape from the US, and is sentenced to become a Handmaid. The job of a Handmaid is to bear the children of the man to whom she is assigned. After ruthless group training by Aunt Lydia in the proper way to behave, Kate is assigned as Handmaid to the Commander. Kate is attracted to Nick, the Commander’s chauffeur. At the same time, a resistance movement begins to challenge the regime.
The Handmaid’s Tale is a 1990 film adaptation of the Margaret Atwood novel of the same name. Directed by Volker Schlöndorff, the film stars Natasha Richardson (Kate/Offred), Faye Dunaway (Serena Joy), Robert Duvall (The Commander, Fred), Aidan Quinn (Nick), and Elizabeth McGovern (Moira). The screenplay was written by Harold Pinter. The original music score was composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto. MGM Home Entertainment released an Avant-Garde Cinema DVD of the film in 2001. The film was entered into the 40th Berlin International Film Festival.
Film Review for The Handmaid’s Tale
In The Handmaid’s Tale, right-wing religious fundamentalists have overthrown the American government and established a repressive puritanical society called the Republic of Gilead. Natasha Richardson stars as Kate, who, after losing her husband and daughter while trying to escape to Canada, is captured and assigned to the household of Fred (Robert Duvall), a commander of the regime, and his barren wife (Faye Dunaway). After years of environmental catastrophes, most of the women in this society cannot bear children. Kate, renamed “Of Fred,” has tested fertile, so she is to be a “handmaid” — a term taken from the Biblical story of Rachel. Her sole task is to bear children for the commander.
The screenplay for The Handmaid’s Tale by Harold Pinter conveys Kate’s humiliation, boredom, alienation and yearning for freedom. Her allies, who are also suffering from the suppression of human rights in Gilead, include a prostitute (Elizabeth McGovern), another handmaid (Blanche Baker), and the commander’s chauffeur (Aidan Quinn). Like George Orwell’s 1984 and Doris Lessing’s Memoirs of a Survivor, this work of speculative fiction presents a portrait of a future society and uses it to explore the consequences of present-day policies and developments.
Anyone faintly concerned about environmental degradation, women’s rights to control their own bodies, male chauvinism, censorship, public displays of violence, and procreation poltics will find this film to be quite chilling. In addition, it reveals why freedom remains the most precious idea and ideal in the world. Volker Schlkondorff directs The Handmaid’s Tale.
The Handmaid’s Tale (1990)
Directed by: Volker Schlöndorff
Starring: Natasha Richardson, Faye Dunaway, Aidan Quinn, Elizabeth McGovern, Victoria Tennant, Robert Duvall, Blanche Baker, Traci Lind, Kathryn Doby, Lucia Hartpeng
Screenplay by: Harold Pinter
Production Design by: Thomas A. Walsh
Cinematography by: Igor Luther
Film Editing by: David Ray
Costume Design by: Colleen Atwood
Set Decoration by: Jan Pascale
Art Direction by: Gregory Melton
Music by: Ryuichi Sakamoto
Distributed by: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release Date: March 9, 1990
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