''For Love Alone'' is a 1986 Australian film directed by

Stephen Wallace Stephen Henry Wallace A.M. (born 23 December 1943) is an Australian film and television director, screenwriter, producer, published author and acting coach. He has directed eight feature films, nine telemovies, numerous short films, worked on ...

and starring

Helen Buday Helen Buday (born 1962) is an Australian actress and singer. She is known for her role as Savannah Nix in the film ''Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome''. She was awarded Best Actress at the 48th Valladolid International Film Festival in 2003 for her r ...

Hugo Weaving Hugo Wallace Weaving (born 4 April 1960) is an English actor. Born in Colonial Nigeria to English parents, he has resided in Australia for the entirety of his career. He is the recipient of six AACTA Awards, Australian Academy of Cinema and Tel ...

and

Sam Neill Sir Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill (born 14 September 1947) is a New Zealand actor. Neill's near-50 year career has included leading roles in both dramas and blockbusters. Considered an "international leading man", he has been regarded as one o ...

. The screenplay was written by Wallace, based on the 1945 novel of the same name by

Christina Stead Christina Stead (17 July 190231 March 1983) was an Australian novelist and short-story writer acclaimed for her satirical wit and penetrating psychological characterisations. Christina Stead was a committed Marxist, although she was never a mem ...

. The film marked the screen debut of

Naomi Watts Naomi Ellen Watts (born 28 September 1968) is a British actress. After her family moved to Australia, she made her film debut there in the drama '' For Love Alone'' (1986) and then appeared in three television series, '' Hey Dad..!'' (1990), '' ...

. The film was entered into the 37th Berlin International Film Festival.

Plot

In the 1930s, Teresa ( Buday) is a naive young woman dealing with the oppressive attitudes of society and her father's austere ways. She has a fling with university Latin professor Jonathan Crow (

Weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal th ...

). It takes her some time to realize that he does not desire a serious relationship. Teresa then starts dating liberal-minded banker James Quick (

Neill Neill is an Irish surname, and may refer to * A. S. Neill (1883-1973), British educator and author * Alec Neill (b.1950), New Zealand politician * Ben Neill (b.1957), American composer * Bob Neill (b.1952), British politician * Bud Neill (1911-197 ...

). Once she's settled down with Quick, the idealistic Teresa becomes enamored with another intellectual, poet Harry (Williams). Quick encourages the affair, hoping that Teresa will come to realize that there's more to true love than mere sexual impulsivity.

Principal cast

Production

The film was a pet project for Margaret Fink who took six years to raise finance. The bulk of the money came from a pre-sale to

Greater Union Greater Union Organisation Pty Ltd, trading as Event Cinemas, Greater Union, GU Film House, Moonlight Cinema and Birch Carroll & Coyle (BCC Cinemas), is the largest movie exhibitor in Australia and New Zealand, with over 140 Multiplex (movie the ...

and from UA. Fink had been impressed by ''Stir'' and asked Stephen Wallace to direct.

Fay Weldon Fay Weldon CBE, FRSL (born Franklin Birkinshaw; 22 September 1931 – 4 January 2023) was an English author, essayist and playwright. Over the course of her 55-year writing career, she published 31 novels, including ''Puffball'' (1980), '' The ...

wrote some early drafts but neither Fink or Wallace were happy with them so Wallace did the adaptation himself. Wallace says it took him three and a half years to write the script.

Peter Strauss Peter Lawrence Strauss (born February 20, 1947) is an American television and film actor, known for his roles in several television miniseries in the 1970s and 1980s. He is five-time Golden Globe Awards nominee. Early life Strauss was born in C ...

was originally cast to play James Quick but was replaced by

Geneviève Picot Geneviève Picot is an Australian stage, film and television actress. In 1983 Picot was nominated for an AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in ''Undercover'' and in 1991 was nominated for the same award for '' P ...

was tentatively cast in the lead role but it took two years to raise the money by which time it was felt she was too old so she was replaced by Helen Buday, who had only made one film previously. Most of the movie was shot in Sydney starting in March 1985 with a four-day shoot at Oxford University.

Reception

The movie received poor reviews. Stephen Wallace says he was particularly shocked by the reviews from feminists and women's magazines. "They attacked it so viciously. So I guess it wasn't a totally competent film. I know it was a bit slow and clumsy and I have to accept that." ''For Love Alone'' grossed $193,000 at the box office in Australia which was considered a disappointment. Stephen Wallace regrets his treatment of the subject matter was not bolder.

References

External links