Review of Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit

Introduction

With a dominant and evangelical mother figure in her life, Jess (Charlotte Coleman) wasn`t going to have an easy time of growing up. Jess is steered with religious fervour by mother (Geraldine McEwan) and the local parish undertaking questionable teachings. As a teenager she forms a close friendship with Melanie and the two become sexually intimate. The penalty for such `deviant` behaviour is severe but the price must be paid and Jess learns the hard way what it takes to rid her of the devil while being `corrected`. She hardly entertains such thoughts again until she meets Katy who brings the passion back into her life.

Video

Made for television, Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit is presented with a fullframe transfer. There is a certain level of grain throughout but this never becomes a distraction. The colours seem a little muted, but I`m guessing this is meant to reflect gritty northern life.

Audio

Good clear audio from the Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack. The dialogue remains clear, and even the northern dialects are easy to understand. No problems at all.

Features

None. You can select `Play all` or any of the three episodes from the static menu. No subtitles. It`s a shame there aren`t, at the very least, cast/crew bios or cast interviews from the time.

Conclusion

I was about 15 when this first aired in the 80s and I didn`t watch it at all back then despite some of the press hoopla about the scenes between two girls. This DVD was my first chance to sit through all three episodes and I sat through 165 minutes with ease. Geraldine McEwan is wonderful, as is Charlotte Coleman, and their mother and daughter relationship is very convincing. Kenneth Cranham as the narrow minded over-the-top scary preacher does an impeccable job too. The religious elements here are still all too real today as it ever was, but nevertheless it remains somewhat surprising, especially when dramatised in this way. Some of it is frightening too and you do wonder how or why they do such things to each other in the name of the Lord when the Lord clearly doesn`t advocate such physical or mental abuse.

As a coming of age story, it works very well, though there are parts of the story that lack detail. These are particularly the relationships between Jess and Melanie, and Jess and Katy. Some more of what happens between them would have been good to see. Plus of course Jess`s schooling isn`t really featured much here and I feel this is sorely lacking. So much so that it`s driven me to hunt down the book.

Despite some of these minor niggles, Jeanette Winterson`s script, based on her own book, is well written and filled with humour as well as tragedy. It`s always a sure sign of something good when we reach the end and want more. This is how I felt here. The story had reached it`s natural conclusion but the characters are so rich and engrossing that I wanted that little bit more.

"The preacher looked just like Errol Flynn, but holy. A lot of women found the Lord that week."

Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit is well made, a joy to watch and stands up well as good drama. Thoroughly recommended for all, including "heathens in hot countries".