History Film / Darling

* ModelingIsGlamorous: The film is about Diana Scott, a beauteous model from Swinging Sixties London, who gets into multiple romantic entanglements, attends high-profile charity galas, and flies around the world for various jobs. However, her personal unfulfillment, amorality, and disillusionment with the jet set are running themes, and the film ends with her stuck in a marriage to an Italian prince.

Christie had been seen in a few supporting roles but this film and ''Film/DoctorZhivago'', which came out in the same year, made her a huge star. The film was nominated for five UsefulNotes/{{Academy Award}}s, winning for Best Actress (Christie), Original Screenplay (Frederic Raphael), and Black-And-White Costume Design (Julie Harris--no, not [[Creator/JulieHarris that one]]).

Christie had been seen in a few supporting roles but this film and ''Film/DoctorZhivago'', which came out in the same year, made her a huge star. The film received five UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nominations, winning for Best Actress (Christie), Original Screenplay (Frederic Raphael), and Black-And-White Costume Design (Julie Harris--no, not [[Creator/JulieHarris that one]]).

Christie had been seen in a few supporting roles but this film and ''Film/DoctorZhivago'', which came out in the same year, made her a huge star. The film received five UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nominations, winning for Best Actress (Christie), Original Screenplay (Frederic Raphael), and Black-And-White Costume Design (Julie Harris -- no, not [[Creator/JulieHarris that one]]).

Christie had been seen in a few supporting roles but this film and ''Film/DoctorZhivago'', which came out in the same year, made her a huge star.

Christie is Diana Scott, a rather amoral model and would-be actress in swinging '60s London. Diana is married to a nice young man named Tony who doesn't interest her very much, and she immediately forgets about him when she meets Robert, a BBC television journalist (Creator/DirkBogarde). Robert is married but sexy Diana has little trouble seducing him. Eventually Robert leaves his wife for Diana and the two move in together.

Diana starts to tire of domestic life with Robert just as she tired of life with her husband. She meets Miles Brand (Creator/LaurenceHarvey), an advertising executive and total sleazeball. Diana, while still living with Robert, carries on an affair with louche Miles that gets her a part in a cheesy movie while also introducing her to the weird orgiastic lifestyle of the London and Paris upper crust. She gets pregnant and has an abortion. Eventually Robert has enough and leaves her. Miles isn't one for commitment, but there's a third suitor in the person of Cesare (José Luis de Vilallonga), an insanely wealthy Italian prince. In between, Diana strikes up a close platonic friendship with Malcolm (Roland Curram), a gay fashion photographer.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/darling_julie_christie_1965.jpg]]

''Darling'' is a 1965 drama film directed by Creator/JohnSchlesinger and starring Creator/JulieChristie.

Diana starts to tire of domestic life with Robert just as she tired of life with her husband. She meets Miles Brand, an advertising executive and total sleazeball (Creator/LaurenceHarvey). Diana, while still living with Robert, carries on an affair with louche Miles that gets her a part in a cheesy movie as well as introducing her to the weird orgy lifestyle of the London and Paris upper crust. She gets pregnant and has an abortion. Eventually Robert has enough and leaves her. Miles isn't one for commitment, but there's a third suitor in the person of Cesare, an insanely wealthy Italian prince.

* GayBestFriend: Malcolm the photographer, whom Diana goes gallivanting around Italy with for a while after breaking up with Robert. He's the only one who seems to understand her.

Christie is Diana Scott, a rather amoral model and would-be actress in swinging '60s London. Diana is married to a nice young man named Tony who doesn't interest her very much, and she immediately forgets about him when she meets Robert, a BBC television journalist (Dirk Bogarde). Robert is married but sexy Diana has little trouble seducing him. Eventually Robert leaves his wife for Diana and the two move in together.

Diana starts to tire of domestic life with Robert just as she tired of life with her husband. She meets Miles Brand, an advertising executive and total sleazeball (Laurence Harvey). Diana, while still living with Robert, carries on an affair with louche Miles that gets her a part in a cheesy movie as well as introducing her to the weird orgy lifestyle of the London and Paris upper crust. She gets pregnant and has an abortion. Eventually Robert has enough and leaves her. Miles isn't one for commitment, but there's a third suitor in the person of Cesare, an insanely wealthy Italian prince.

* ForWantOfANail: Diana thinks that if Robert had only gotten to the apartment a half hour later, they might have gotten back together. But as it turns out he caught her with Miles again, and any hope of a rekindled romance is crushed.

* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: And bad girls have them, which is why Diana aborts her pregnancy, because she doesn't want to interfere with her movie career.

* PrecisionFStrike: Near the end Diana gets a harassing phone call, maybe from Robert, although we never find out. When the smarmy voice on the other end of the line won't reveal himself an angry Diana screeches, "For chrissakes, stop fucking around and tell me who's speaking!"

* ThreeWaySex: Another bit of censorship falling by the wayside. We don't see the three-way sex, and neither does Robert when he catches Diana with Miles and stalks off. After that the scene cuts to an Asian woman in the apartment with Diana and Miles, who is sitting in her underwear in front of a mirror.

* BlatantLies: Diana's narration often consists of self-exculpatory excuses that are contradicted by the narration. When she insists that she ''never'' wanted to break up a family, the action shows her stalking Robert as he goes back home to his wife and kids. When she says that she always wanted Robert to spend time with his children, the action shows Diana in a snit when Robert returns from a visit to his children, asking "Where the hell have you been?"

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:
** The weird party in Paris that Miles and Diana attend apparently involves two people engaging in sex for the amusement of the guests. The man is unbuttoning his shirt and the woman is topless from behind by the time the camera cuts to a somewhat uncomfortable Diana.
** This film also includes implied cunnilingus, surely one of the first instances in an English-language film ([[Film/{{Ecstasy}} European film was way ahead]]). Diana's in bed, Miles approaches on top of her, Miles's head disappears out of the bottom of the frame, Diana's face contorts with pleasure.

* YourCheatingHeart:
** Diana cheats on her husband with Robert, who is married as well.
** After she and Robert move in together, she cheats on him with Miles.
** And after she marries Prince Cesare, an unhappy Diana flees back to England and has sex with Robert.
** However that's only after it's rather strongly implied that Cesare is cheating on her. He makes an excuse about going on a business trip and to see his mother, but says she couldn't come because Rome "is not amusing" at that time of year. And when she wants to call him, an assistant tells Diana that the prince had the telephones in his mother's home removed.

* LiteraryAgentHypothesis: We find out at the end that the narration is Diana's interview with Ideal Woman magazine. Also, the narration track actually interacts with the film a couple of times. In the early going Diana sees herself as a child onscreen and says "That's me!"

* {{Narrator}}: The film is peppered throughout with Diana's narration, often when she's telling BlatantLies to make herself look better that are contradicted by the action onscreen.

** However that's only after it's rather strongly implied that Cesare is cheating on her. He makes an excuse about going on a business trip and to see his mother, but says she couldn't come because Rome "is not amusing" at that time of year. And when she wants to call him, an assistant tells Diana that the prince had the telephones in his mother's home removed.

''Darling'' is a 1965 film directed by Creator/JohnSchlesinger, starring Creator/JulieChristie.

''Darling'' is a 1965 film directed by John Schlesinger, starring Creator/JulieChristie.

** The weird party in Paris that Miles and Diana attend apparently involves two people engaging in sex for the amusement of the guests. The man is unbuttoning her shirt and the woman is topless from behind by the time the camera cuts to a somewhat uncomfortable Diana.

** This film also includes implied cunnilingus, surely one of the first instances in an English-language film ([[Film/{{Ecstasy}} European film was way ahead]]). Diana's in bed, Miles approaches on top of her, Miles's head disappears out of frame, Diana's face contorts with pleasure.

* RevealingHug: Diana embraces Robert and says "I'm so happy!" Robert's uncertain look as she hugs him reveals his doubts--by now he's pretty sure she's cheating on him with Miles.

* TrophyWife: Diana winds up in an empty existence as the trophy wife of a wealthy Italian prince.

** And after she marries Prince Cesare, an unhappy Diana flees back to England and has sex with Robert.