Director Karel Reisz and screenwriter Harold Pinter here successfully take on the near-impossible filming of John Fowles's complex novel. Two stories are told in parallel, one about an affair between a disgraced Victorian governess and an English gentleman, and the other about the relationship between the two film actors portraying the Victorian couple. Jeremy Irons and Meryl Streep feature in the dual roles. The historic tale is often interrupted by the antics of the modern duo, which seem prosaic by comparison. However, Victorian morality seeps hauntingly into every frame of the main story, which is decked out in convincing period detail and hangs on two scorching performances from Irons and Streep. Reisz, meanwhile, focuses on the nature of passion by using a powerfully claustrophobic atmosphere.

In this story-within-a-story, Anna is an actress starring opposite Mike in a period piece about the forbidden love between their respective characters, Sarah and Charles. Both actors are involved in serious relationships, but the passionate nature of the script leads to an off-camera love affair as well. While attempting to maintain their composure and professionalism, Anna and Mike struggle to come to terms with their infidelity.