Last night I dreamed of Africa...
Based on the eponymous novel by Isak Dinesen,
pen name of Danish writer Karen Blixen,
Out of Africa tells of Blixen's time in the Kenyan highlands, her unhappy marriage, her attempts at a failed coffee farm, and her romance with big game hunter Denys Finch-Hatton.
Meryl Streep gives one of the best performances of her career opposite Robert Redford as Denys Finch-Hatton and Klaus-Maria Brandauer as Bror Blixen. Expertly directed by
Sydney Pollack, incredibly scored by
John Barry, and showcasing the very best of the African landscape,
Out of Africa has well earned its place as #13 on
AFI's 100 Years: 100 Passions.
The incredible acting, smoking-hot chemistry, and heartrending storyline vault this epic romance into the same league as
Gone with the Wind,
From Here To Eternity, and
Casablanca. This description in no way does this movie justice.
Provides examples of:
- Character Development: Karen begins by marrying Bror so that she can be a baroness and very much attached to fine things. Near the end she admits to Denys that she was beginning to like living without them. Denys had previously admitted that Karen had ruined being alone for him.
- Double Standard (subverted: Karen can, eventually, hunt and farm with the best of them, and is even invited into the to-this-day men-only bar at the Muthaiga Club. She remains the only woman ever to drink there.)
- Enforced Method Acting: In a scene, Karen uses a whip to try containing a lion that invaded their camp. As the tame lion didn't react the expected way, the ropes containing him were let loose - thus, Meryl Streep's look of terror is genuine!
- Fake Brit: Robert Redford. Director Sidney Pollack didn't even let him try to do a British accent because it would sound too silly coming from the All American Redford.
- Fake Nationality: Meryl Streep, excellently done.
- Framing Device: Old Karen remembering her African histories.
- Gold Digger: At Karen's suggestion, Bror marries her for her money.
- Gorgeous Period Dress: Fashion of the 1910s was pretty stunning, even for hunting outfits.
- Great White Hunter: Denys Finch-Hatton
- Instant Expert: Denys and flying.
- Not Even Bothering with the Accent: Robert Redford, though enforced (see Fake Brit above) to the point some lines with an accent were looped in post-production.
- Scenery Porn.
- Shoot the Money
- Spirited Young Lady: Felicity seems this way in her few scenes.
- The Storyteller: Karen is very good at stories.
- Triang Relations
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