Actress Diane Lane was catapulted to stardom with her role as the middle-aged wife who has an affair in the erotic thriller Unfaithful. Being an actress still waiting for a breakthrough since the 80s, Lane finally received her due credit with the film.
Lane has worked with acclaimed directors such as Francis Ford Coppola and Richard Attenborough. She began her career as a child actress and once revealed that she was traumatized by director Stanley Kubrick’s disturbing thriller A Clockwork Orange, which she watched when she was nine.
Diane Lane Was Scarred By Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange
Actress Diane Lane is known for her roles in films such as Unfaithful, Hardball, The Cotton Club, and Under the Tuscan Sun. She has been nominated for the Academy Award, the Golden Globes, and the SAG Award for her role in Unfaithful. Lane also starred in several acclaimed films such as The Perfect Storm, A Walk in the Moon, and Chaplin.
Lane started her career as a child actress, being a part of a traveling theatre company called La Mama. According to Lane, the company was the only American group performing in European summer theater festivals. She spoke about her experience in an interview with The Guardian,
“We were the American entry in these summer theatre festivals across Europe and beyond: Italy, Germany, France, Scotland, Finland, Greece, Lebanon, Iran, we did them all. We also did some red countries. I remember thinking: “What is a red country?” I didn’t understand.”
While she was part of the company, Diane Lane reportedly caught a screening of Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange in Copenhagen. While the film was not entirely appropriate for a child, she claimed that the only criteria for her fellow travelers to choose the film was because it was not dubbed in a European language.
Diane Lane said that she was traumatized by the film, which explored the mind of a deranged teen who has a penchant for the ultra-violence. She said,
“I don’t think that the twenty-something cinema usher realized what Kubrick had in for us when she allowed nine-year-old me in to see it. I remember the scene where they are pouring milk laced with drugs from the mannequin’s breasts. I’m still scarred. I was taken to lots of movies that I probably shouldn’t have seen. I don’t remember the names; I just remember the violence and the s*x.”
Diane Lane was only nine years old at the time. Lane mentioned that her impressions about s*x and violence were that they were ‘hip and cool’, due to her exposure to such films.
What Was Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange About?
In 1971, legendary director Stanley Kubrick adapted Anthony Burgess’ dystopian novel A Clockwork Orange. The film was an exploration of violence and psychology, featuring Malcolm McDowell as the protagonist Alex DeLarge, a menacing and deranged teenager in futuristic Britain.
The film had many graphic depictions of abuse and violence which reportedly also influenced real incidents of violence. The film was initially rated X in America and was then rated R for release. It was banned by the National Catholic Office for Motion Pictures. The film was also withdrawn from theaters in Britain, reportedly at Kubrick’s request as many copycat incidents were attributed to the film. It was banned from being screened in the UK for 27 years and was re-released after Kubrick died in 1999.
A Clockwork Orange has now gained a cult classic status years after its release. The film’s depiction of violence is credited with opening up more films to depict violence and gore in cinema. It has been featured in many best films of all time lists, especially by credible organizations such as the American Film Institute, Time Magazine, and Empire.
