Critics worldwide hailed this self-aware costume epic. I thought it was watchable. It was a marvel to look at, with wonderful costumes and sets. The uneven plot and periods of Tilda Swinton (as the eponymous heroine/hero) talking to the camera detracted from my enjoyment.

The story, from the Virginia Woolf novel, follows a young English nobleman (Swinton) who defies death, time, and gender. The movie opens with Orlando as Queen Elizabeth's favorite nobleman. After a deep sleep, he wakes, and it's 40 years later. The movie follows him as 400 years pass and he evolves into a woman, finally finding happiness in the 20th century.

There is no acknowledgement of the passage of time, and few of the characters notice that Orlando had been around since 1600. Apparently, Woolf was saying that women are so undervalued that nobody notices her. I realize that the concept of time was a contrivance to provide a background for the film's musing on the nature of gender, but it made it difficult to concentrate.

I did like the casting, with the boyish but beautiful Swinton easily making the transformation from man to woman. I thought Quentin Crisp was hilarious as the Queen. Oh, and Billy Zane and his eyebrows made a good dashing hero-type.