Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Blistering performances.

I gave the movie an 8 out of 10 stars--because I thought the actors gave convincing portrayals of a drug-addled Caroline Lamb, and an ambitious William Lamb 2nd Viscount Melbourne, and an equally ambitious mother of William Lamb. Without seeing Lady Caroline Lamb as one addicted to laudanum, the viewer misses an important part of the Sarah Miles portrayal; I was convinced from the acting and make up that Lady Caroline was addicted and emotionally disturbed--the cropped hair, the pale--wan look, the bugged eyes. Lord Byron, played by Richard Chamberlain came across as the cad Byron was in real life. The other actors more than fulfilled their contract and gave exemplary performances.As always, anything from Hollywood and its environs in England or Italy or Germany, etc. is to be suspect. The business of Hollywood is to tell a story, not to describe history. Apparently Lady Caroline Lamb died at the early age of 43 (in January 1828) of influenza-- the dramatic collapse of Lady Caroline is just that--drama. The viewer can readily conclude from the movie that addiction to laudanum severely compromised her health. One turns to books to verify the information in the movie.The movie portrays William Lamb as long suffering with an unstable and unfaithful wife--where in reality, William Lamb himself was no slouch in the infidelity department. William Lamb did not become Lord Melbourne till his Father's death in 1828-- after Caroline had died; Melbourne did not become Prime Minister till 1834--again, years after Lady Caroline died.The movie is available on YouTube and is worth spending the two hours it takes; like I say, I'm glad I didn't spend the $2 to see it in 1973. There were many better movies to see at that time.

I have not checked this film for historical accuracy. Lady Lamb comes across as a tragic fool who does not really understand the society around her. She is fortunate to have money, unlucky not to have brains or education.At one point, against the advice of others, she impulsively throws a way an expensive bracelet. The beggar who gets it, is immediately chased by the other beggars and is killed. She does not seem to have an awareness of the consequences of her actions.Her husband is portrayed as noble, Lord Byron as a cad who uses her to enter society, and the older women of the era as poisonous.Because of the age of the film it is no longer a stroll through sumptuous film sets with a sexy subject.

I loved this film the first time I watched it more than a dozen years ago. It does not surprise me that the writer and director Mr. Robert Bolt was a playwright-this film captures the best of what makes a film and a play, which is a very unusual occurrence.This film always-always captivates me with it's genius beginning-the camera is the mind of the director and writer and this mind is a brilliant and passionate one! The first minute of this film reveals Sarah Miles' character, Lady Caroline Lamb, perfectly. The rest of the film is just as honest and raw. I suppose it's the raw humaness and beauty of this film that holds me and shall always cause me to hold this film so much higher than others. I am willing to bet that because Mr. Bolt was a playwright that he had a high respect for the craft of acting-perhaps this is another reason the film is so rich-the actors are given the time to do their art. Thanks to Mr. Bolt and Sarah Miles for coming together and bringing into the world this beautiful, poetic and tender work.

As a work of fiction, this is an unexceptional piece of melodrama with a familiar story: the heroine falls in love with a man who abandons her cruelly. Then she does it again, and finally dies miserable and alone. Unfortunately, the main characters in this story are *supposed* to be real people. In the course of presenting Caroline Lamb (played by his wife) as a woman wronged, Bolt rides roughshod over historical facts and turns a blind eye to some of her less noble moments. In particular Lord Byron, her sometime lover, is presented as a poorly researched caricature. (On the bright side, the crippled leg that plagued him throughout his life has miraculously vanished.)It is true, as depicted in the film, that 'Caro' and Byron had an affair, and that Byron was the one to break it off as she became more and more obsessed with him. But the film completely fails to note that she went on to conduct a vicious campaign of revenge against him that lasted for considerably longer than the original affair, and played a major part in ruining his reputation in England with accusations of crimes up to and including murder. Byron was certainly a flawed human being, but Bolt magnifies and distorts those flaws while ignoring many of Lady Caroline's.It appears that Bolt is more interested in making a good story than in representing the life of the real Caroline Lamb, which would be forgivable if he *had* created a good story. But there's nothing exceptional about this one, not even the costumes; just a run-of-the-mill "woman ruined by heartless men" tale. If it's 19th-century fiction you're after, a Jane Austen dramatization would be a better choice; if it's historical accuracy you like, you won't find it here.