Pros:
1. The framing and directing is just perfect as usual with Joseph Losey (Director). It's the one thing he always excels at.
2. The set and costume design are fantastic, and they recreate early 20th century upper-class England perfectly. The costume design in particular is exceedingly beautiful and well-designed.
3. Both Julie Christie (Marian) and Alan Bates (Ted Burgess) give really good performances.
4. The film presents a well-balanced story of two forbidden romances. One is slightly comedic as it involves a 12-year-old boy and a grown woman, the other is mostly off-screen, but is still really passionate.
5. The does a great job at helping to ramp up the drama.
Cons: 1. The first 25-30 minutes are far too slow-paced and uneventful. 2. The child actors, especially Dominic Guard (Leo Colston), give rather patchy performances. 3. The small narrations carried out between certain scenes are really strange and pointless. 4. There are a few filler scenes inserted to pad out the run-time. 5. The character of Marian is mostly unlikable and uninteresting, which prevents you from fully sympathising with her predicament. 6. The movie brings up this sub-story of Leo Colston casting curses and only seems to do so so they can link it to an entirely pointless scene, that takes place in the present, near the end.
Cons: 1. The first 25-30 minutes are far too slow-paced and uneventful. 2. The child actors, especially Dominic Guard (Leo Colston), give rather patchy performances. 3. The small narrations carried out between certain scenes are really strange and pointless. 4. There are a few filler scenes inserted to pad out the run-time. 5. The character of Marian is mostly unlikable and uninteresting, which prevents you from fully sympathising with her predicament. 6. The movie brings up this sub-story of Leo Colston casting curses and only seems to do so so they can link it to an entirely pointless scene, that takes place in the present, near the end.