This story of Shelley and Byron is pretty (thanks to photographer Giuseppe Routnno) and pretty boring too. Ken Russell made a hash of the same story in Gothic and here the only spark of interest in Ivan Passer's tedious treatment lies in how long it will take Byron (Anglim) to get Mary Shelley (Krige) into bed. The answer's 110 of the film's 115 minutes. The actors spout epigrams and strike poses. Bloodless and gutless, the film just lies there in the Swiss sunshine. Ironically, its most interesting scenes are the closest it gets to the Russell treatment, as the protagonists are visited (in a cavern, in an opium-induced haze) by the monster of their worst nightmares.


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