The relationship between a burnt-out painter of 60 and the schoolgirl who inspires him to start working again. She falls for him, he keeps her at arm's length, but the strain of pubescent desire is too much and she starts to crack. Tatum O'Neal is lovely in this film. She's not a lazy actress, she simply doesn't ham it up like today's teen players. The sequence where she hopes to seduce painter Richard Burton by disrobing in his studio is quite sad (she wants to surprise him, he surprises her by getting angry). The scene with Tatum and Richard hanging out with a group of her school-friends is wonderful (none of the girls judge him or second-guess her) and O'Neal is sweet promising to return to Burton as quickly as she can ("I'll break all speed records!" she tells him). There are no "Lolita" overtones here. Tatum plays a fairly normal teenager who develops a crush on a fascinating man who is much older. Her heart is bound to get broken, and Burton tries his best to steer her through this. It's a simple, no-frills Canadian drama that will appeal to romantics and young women who may have experienced a crush like this along the way. **1/2 from ****
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moonspinner5521 January 2001
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windypoplar18 January 2007Circle of Two stars Richard Burton and Tatum O'Neal as a 60-is artist and sixteen year old girl caught in unusual love. There both quite good here, the story is handled very tastefully. I recently re-watched this movie after many years and was pleasantly surprised at how good it really is.
Is it a great, can't miss, movie? No, but its certainly much better than its maligned reputation would have you believe. The love is pure and platonic, though sexual desire is clearly felt by both. Burton is good, often the looks of songful agony on Burton weather lined face hit you straight in the heart, he clearly realizes age is upon him and wonders at his own motives in a romantic friendship with a impressionable girl. Particulay the scene in the park, where St. Clair (Burton) tells the story of William Blake, is excellent and allegorical.
O'Neal was probably at her best here, not too far removed from her Oscar-winning performance in "Paper Moon". She certainly plays another "say-it-straight" Kid here. And she does it well.
The score for the film is quite good and really lasts with you. Sort of like "Endless Love" There is a scene of violence in the film and some tasteful nudity, still I think this is fine for mature teens and adults. If you only know Circle of Two by its unkind reviews, check it out. It's worth your time and effort to see something different. -
HotToastyRag21 July 2017Nowadays, sixty years old isn't as old as sixty was thirty-five years ago. Sixty in 1981 was what seventy is now. That being explained, I don't really know why Richard Burton's character in Circle of Two was written to be sixty years old, when he has a romance with a fifteen-year-old Tatum O'Neal. If he was supposed to be fifty, the age difference would have been significant enough, and Burton was only fifty-five when he made the movie. They gave him great shocks of white hair to make him look especially old.
If you don't like May-December romances, don't watch this movie. I definitely don't have a problem with them, so I actually liked this movie. It's very tastefully done, and everyone's attitude on the love affair is understandable. In one scene, Tatum's mother says, "He's old enough to be your father!" Tatum replies, "He's old enough to be your father." It's hilarious and troublesome and confusing at the same time. I like movies like this, so if you're like me, go ahead and add Circle of Two, to your weekend watch list.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to adult content, I wouldn't let my kids watch it. Also, there may or may not be a rape scene (but it has nothing to do with Richard Burton). -
mcb1900-18 February 2005This is a film about romance - deep romance - and it has stayed with me since I first saw it many years ago. There is nothing at all tasteless in the depiction of the relationship between Ashley Sinclair (Richard Burton) and Sara (Tatum O' Neal). It has a lot of purity - partly, I suppose because their love was unconsummated physically - yet, it really was infinitely consummated mentally and emotionally in a way. Two people in love doing, one supposes, the "right" thing - the ending of this film is very heart-wrenching for anyone who has ever had to make difficult choices in love. I thought that both Richard Burton and Tatum O'Neal were perfect in their roles, and their love was highly believable. I also thought the title song was very memorable - there have been many times I have heard it in my head over the years. A great love story, that, unfortunately, not that many people know about.
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fredrikgunerius4 August 2023This look at cross-generational love between a 16-year-old student (Tatum O'Neal) and a 60-year-old artist (Richard Burton) is a lot less controversial and hard-hitting than it could have been. Director Jules Dassin was clearly concerned with making his film virtuous - to the extent that the circle of relatives and acquaintances around our two platonic lovers act increasingly absurdly in order for Burton and O'Neal to come off as the sane ones. Along with the uneven production values, this gives the film an academic quality, even if there is material in here for real emotions and valid observations. A notably world-weary Burton aptly underplays and comes away from it all with a certain dignity; O'Neal gives her character spirit if not authenticity. They share a handful of beautiful scenes together, such as a song on a boat and the fairly classy ending. The director aims for tactful and timeless, but cannot prevent his film from appearing irrelevant and looking dated. At times, the love story feels more like that of a 17th century artist and his muse than something from late 1970s North America. Part of the problem is the supporting roles, most of whom are conspicuously unsatisfactory.
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When I read the back of the video sleeve and realised what Circle Of Two was actually about, I was left rather worried regarding what I was about to watch. A 60 year-old artist falling in love with a 15 year-old girl? The very thought of it made me a bit queasy, a bit nervous. But I couldn't believe for one minute that a dignified actor like Richard Burton would be caught in a film passionately romping around in bed with a teenaged girl. Nor could I believe that a promising young starlet like Tatum O'Neal would stoop to such scenes. Once I got round to watching the film nothing about it was as exploitative, tasteless or controversial as I'd initially feared. It wasn't particularly good either. Just a quiet, forgettable love story about ill-suited lovers.... absorbing enough to sit through but not provocative enough to stick in the memory for long afterwards.
Sarah Norton (Tatum O'Neal) is a bright kid from an affluent family. She occasionally skips school and does "daring" things like sneaking into porn movie screenings at the local adult-movie theatre. She meets a local artist, Ashley St. Clair (Richard Burton), who was once a renowned painter but hasn't painted a stroke in ten years after the critics were unjustly savage towards his work. Somehow, an unlikely affection develops between them which soon blossoms into full-scale love. But Sarah's parents disapprove and take vehement measures to drive a wedge between the mismatched lovers.
The nearest the film comes to over-stepping the mark is a scene in which a naked O'Neal offers herself to Burton in his art studio, upon which he angrily orders her to get dressed. Luckily, Jules Dassin makes the scene quite sensitive and tasteful, directing it as a moment of character development rather than an opportunity for titillation. Throughout the remainder of the film, the controversial issues and themes are dealt with relatively tamely. Burton is pretty good as the artist whose age and experience warn him that to fall in love with the girl - and let her love him in return - is bound to end unhappily. It was probably a hard role to play, but he is honest and convincing in each scene. O'Neal as the teenaged love interest is OK, if a bit wooden with some of her delivery. Michael Wincott (later a scene stealer as Guy of Gisbourne in Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves) has a small but significant role as O'Neal's outrageously jealous ex-boyfriend. Circle Of Two is a fair story of forbidden passion and unworkable love. It works its way through a series of sad and poignant events to an inevitably forlorn conclusion, weaving a story that is interesting without ever being irresistible. It ain't a classic, but it's not too bad. -
nealklein8 January 2003I was skimming over the list of films of Richard Burton when I came to this title that I recall vividly from when I first saw it on cable in 1982. I remember dialogue from Tatum O'Neal that was just amazingly bad. I remember Richard Burton's character looking so hopelessly lost, and then remembering how his motivations didn't translate to me. In short, I remember "Circle of Two" because it was so phenomenally awful.
This movie came out at a time when America was going through a rather disturbing period of fascination with unhealthy or skewed angles on teenage sexuality. Recall "The Blue Lagoon" (and other Brooke Shields annoyances), "Lipstick", "Little Darlings", "Beau Pere" and other films that just seemed to dwell on teens having sex, particularly with adults. As a teenager during this time, I found the obsession, combined with the sexual excesses of the 70's and 80's, made for a subconsciously unsettling environment in which to figure it all out, so to speak.
"Circle of Two" is not execrably acted or needlessly prurient, like "Blue Lagoon". In fact, it tackles the question of love between the young and the old in a brave, if totally failed, way. But honestly, it is one of those films you will *never* see if you didn't see it on its first run because it was so truly awful. No one would want to have this garbage ever surface to be publicly distributed again. -
SampanMassacre22 October 2005Horrible film. About an old crusty painter who hangs around with a young girl. Boring. Tatum O Neil goes through the motions in her part, and has some of the corniest lines in film history. Richard Burton looks close to death in this film, and we're supposed to believe he looks "Good for sixty". The acting is bad, as is the plot. The characters are awful, as is the story. It's really hard to feel for anyone in this film, except Larry Ewashen who plays a guy in a porno theater who hits on Tatum, he's kind of funny. This movie is really a waste of time. If you are a Tatum fan, like me - which is why I rented it in the first place - please don't see this movie. She is really bad in it, and you'll wonder if maybe PAPER MOON was a fluke. It wasn't, because of BAD NEWS BEARS and LITTLE DARLINGS it's known she can act well, but still, don't rent this movie. And if you're a fan of Burton, rent something when he was good looking, and not a fossil.
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oldsarge-117 March 2007I can't say I agree with the writer from England, but then we may have a different view on this film. To start with, I feel that this was one of Tatum's best performances of her film career. While only 17 during filming, she showed the acting ability of an "old soul" and her depth of feeling, not to mention her wit, was outstanding. Richard Burton played his part in an appropriately low keyed manner, which only added to the romantic air of the whole movie. The subject matter is hard for many people to swallow, but the fact of life is that while justice is supposed to be blind, love most certainly is and it can play hell with those involved. If it weren't for the age difference, we would be discussing a later version of Love Story. Maybe the O'Neals are trying to corner the market on love stories. One other item that I disagree with is during the nude scene, Tatum didn't actually offer herself to Richard, but she asked that he paint her in the nude as he had done with a prior lover. Be ye male or female, A Circle Of Two, is certainly made for those die-hard romantics, so if you have seen Love Story and didn't much care for it, then you won't care for this one either. No sex and the nude scene is very brief, so don't watch it for either of those items. However, if you love a good love story and you aren't put off by peoples age, then pull up and chair and rent this one, if you are lucky enough to find it.
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jonathanruano19 February 2009Jule Dassin was a great film director, but his last film "Circle of Two" was a major disappointment. The film is about a fifteen-year old Sarah Norton's (Tatum O'Neill) infatuation with a sixty year old painter Ashleigh St. Clair (Richard Burton). There is nothing wrong with the premise, since an intelligent movie could conceivably be made about a teenager falling in love with a worldly and sophisticated man who is approaching his senior years. But "Circle of Two" is not that film. Ashleigh St. Clair is not worldly or sophisticated and comes across as a colossal dullard here, with the result that we have no idea why Sarah Norton would fall for him. As a result, this film could not be compared to "An Education," which covers similar terrain, since the latter film has an older man who is sophisticated and charming enough to sweep the initially naive Jenny Mellor off of her feet. Meanwhile, Tatum O'Neill tries harder than Richard Burton to deliver a credible performance, but sadly an awful script gives her character nothing interesting to say or do.
Yet the greatest weakness of "Circle of Two" is its lack of daring. The movie dangles the idea of Ashleigh St. Clair having a scandalous love affair with Sarah Norton in order to titillate the audience, but then fails to follow through with it. What would a love affair between a sixty-year old and a fifteen year old be like? What are the physical and psychological consequences of such an affair for Sarah Norton in particular? I am not suggesting that the movie show simulated sex scenes, but perhaps the sex could be suggested and then the consequences of these sexual encounters explored in dialogue and in the unfolding of Sarah and Ashleigh's lives. Yet "Circle of Two" does not have the daring to gamble with such a risky plot. Instead, it brings the two lovers close to having sex only to stage a quick retreat and reassure the audience of the film's wholesome intentions. As a result, we are left asking ourselves whether "Circle of Two" is really an exploitation film (exploiting Tatum's nudity, for instance) dressed up as a wholesome picture.
The absence of a worldly and sophisticated older man and a cowardly script are two excellent reasons not to see "Circle of Two." But what compounds this film's failures is that all the supporting performances are terrible. Clearly B- or even C-actors were hired for the supporting cast, possibly because of budgetary challenges during filming. The result is that these performances are amateurish to an embarrassing degree. Toward the end of the film, there were a couple scenes which I enjoyed. Richard Burton sounds great screaming at the crooked art dealer, if for no other reason than the crooked art dealer is portrayed by such a bad actor who needed Richard to teach him how to act. Another scene I liked has Tatum O'Neill looking heart broken as the escalator takes her farther and farther away from Ashleigh. If the film could have had acting like that throughout, then maybe it would have amounted to something. Yet in its current form, I cannot recommend "Circle of Two." -
misha-468 July 2004This is a wonderful and tender story about a young woman coming of age and within that, finding a deeper love within her soul with a man who just happens to be older. The beauty of this tale is there was never a physical relationship between the two but more importantly, this movie shows and demonstrates if this were a perfect work, how pure and blind love can and maybe should be.
Tatum played this part perfectly as a young teenage girl falling in love with a man, Richard Burton who showed and gave her respect, love, honesty and trust. Richard plays an out of work painter who was on his last leg when this bright light came into his world. This light shined so loudly it overwhelmed him and in doing so, sparked new life into his tired and somewhat forgotten soul. He begins to paint again and thus he is reborn.
I personally enjoyed and love what this movie stands for. If you have ever loved and lost and yet never ever forgotten the truth that was there when you felt such powerful and sincere emotions, then this movie is indeed for you.
This movie belongs right along with such classics as Roman Holiday, A portrait of Jenny and any movie where color and age are timeless. -
mark.waltz1 February 2022He's 60, and she's 15, and no, it's not creepy. I can understand a young girl infatuated with an older man, especially an esteemed artist, and it's made clear from the very beginning that she's no Lolita. Richard Burton, in the final phase of his career and life, had some weird films come out around this time, as well as some he obviously did for the paycheck, not for the challenge. This is probably both, and certainly seeing the two names above the title on the poster must have raise too many eyebrows in 1981. I've seen many May / December romances over the years that were genuinely creepy or eventually won me over, as this one surprisingly does not go down the creepy category, but it does not win me over either.
The film is directed by Jules Dassin, best known for "Never on Sunday", made 30 years before. Burton is as classy as ever, and he doesn't come off as undignified, but O'Neal seems very awkward,. Perhaps her "Little Darlings" co-star Kristy McNichol should have been offered this film instead, because she had the enthusiasm that this character required, while O'Neal is trying too hard to remain a lady and comes off forced. At least the script acknowledges the age difference ("You're robbing the grave!") and never gives any insinuation that something physical is going to happen even though a few physical touching scenes between the two and the artistic modeling seeing are eye raising.
Mostly it's about companionship, two human beings regardless of age connecting, and he sees her as a daughter that he didn't have or a student he mentors. It's unlike the 1973 Clint Eastwood movie "Breezy" in that sense, although that one wasn't all that cringy either. But the low-budget is obvious, the pacing is slow, and it seems like something that would have been made for early cable TV rather than something released theatrically. -
In Toronto, the fifteen year-old student and aspirant writer Sarah Norton (Tatum O'Neal) meets the sixty year old painter Ashley St. Clair (Richard Burton) in a cafeteria while hiding from her stalker boy-friend Paul (Michel Wincott). The former successful Ashley has stopped painting for ten years and accepts to read the poems that Sarah has written. They start seeing each other at his studio and Sarah falls in love with him. Ashley feels a platonic love for Sarah that becomes his muse and he decides to paint again. When Paul snoops Sarah in Ashley's studio, he misunderstands their relationship and tries to rape Sarah in a cornfield but she self-defends with a stone hitting Paul in the head. Sarah's parents discover that their daughter has secret encounters with Ashley and lock her in her room. On her sixteenth birthday, Sarah finds that Ashley has moved to New York and decides to travel to the Big Apple to meet him.
"Circle of Two" is a wonderful and sensitive unconventional love story. The last work of Jules Dassin discloses this coming of age romance between a teenager and an old man through a tight direction without any sort of exploitation despite the polemic theme. Tatum O'Neal is fantastic in the role of a girl that falls in love with a man that could be her grandfather. The soundtrack gives an additional touch of class to this wonderful film. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Círculo de 2 Amantes" ("Círcle of 2 Lovers") -
michael-253910 February 2007Although the movie itself could have been a bit better in design the message was so very clear. This was a love story between two people old and young. true love is ageless and timeless if it is true. An old almost waisted painter finds new spirit and life again when he meets a very very young girl who believed in him and he soon begins to paint once more. She brought life and light back into his world in doing so she falls in love with the person who gave her kindness, tenderness and treated her with respect and honor. I am very glad that the director did not allow and physical relationship between the two in the movie although the feelings between them were there.
Granted I am a romantic and i loved this movie from the first time I had seen it. -
excalibur-56-35597615 August 2011Quite the obscure film this Circle of Two but just because it's obscure doesn't deem it unworthy of a serious look. Quite contrary. Based on the long out of print novel, A Lesson In Love by Marie-Teresa Baird. The premise of the story was kept nicely intact by the very well done screenplay by Thomas Hedley. In one of the last few roles before his passing in 1984, Richard Burton is perfect as Ashley Sinclair, a 60-year-old once famous artist who for 10 years has been idle with no creative spark. By chance he meets 16 year-old aspiring writer, Sarah Norton who is played by a young and impressive Tatum O'Neal who put her child- actor image in the past at this pivotal time in her career.
Their first meeting happens at a soft-porn theater where she goes on a dare by a school friend. (There's no image of pornography, only a soundtrack to suggest what is happening) and while walking out, Sarah accidentally hits a slumped over and asleep in his seat, Ashley, in the head with her back-pack. They exchange a few words in a awkward moment and leave separately. Then days later at a café where she publicly dumps her boyfriend their paths cross again. Future meetings take place and soon after they form an emotional bond. Note: Emotional bond. The late, great film director, Jules Dassin expertly handled the sensitive subject matter to avoid the obvious pitfalls. So, if you're thinking Lolita or some soft-core smut fest, this film is neither and prouder for it.
For Ashley, Sarah reconnects him to life and he's inspired to start painting again with a newly found passion. For Sarah, she experiences love for the first time in her life with this older and worldly man. The time they share together opens a whole new world for them both. Its love in the purest way. Inevitably, their secret relationship is discovered not only by his on-again-off-again girlfriend, Claudia (played by Nuala Fitzgerald) who senses something when she comes for a visit but what shatters their world is due to an incident involving the authorities brought on by Sarah's jealous ex-boyfriend, Paul (Michael Wincott) while he spies on Sarah and Ashley one afternoon at his home.
Soon after, their relationship is clearly on course to its demise due to Sarah's parents (played by Robin Gammell and Patricia Collins) who interfere with strict grounding and no less a house visit by a psychiatrist (the late, Kate Reid) who sympathizes with Sarah and sees her for what she really is, a maturing young woman very much in love. There's a touching final scene during which Sarah has finally tracked down Ashley and confronts him about why he left town on her birthday and gave no information on his whereabouts. The gentle girl with the broken heart forces him to explain himself.
Not a great film but a damn good one with its unique portrayal of both innocence and wisdom and how these two share an affinity but with the unfortunate span of years between them, their love must always be less than perfect and unconsummated. It's a bittersweet love story that really touches the heart. In this day and age movies like this can no longer be made and Circle of Two is a story that you won't soon forget. -
bren015223 June 2003Tatum O'Neal has been movie selective and has had a checkered past.
I truly enjoy every time I see Circle of Two. When I expect the cliches I see from watching numerous films, I do not get them--even when they approach them.
This is a doomed love, but one that is real. Very few films view this aspect of love without being sappy or swallowing themselves in sexual release.
I am biased toward Tatum O'Neal as an actress, so my comments are bent toward her as such. Yet, there is something in this film that makes me understand emotional truths.
I wish I could explain the importance of this film... -
Patsy-914 June 1999The promise Tatum O'Neal showed as a little girl clearly didn't pan out, as evidenced by this obscure Canadian production about a schoolgirl who has an affair (of the heart) with 60-year old painter Richard Burton. Her delivery is unforgivably flat - she is clearly giving readings, especially in the closing scene - and the production lackluster on every level. Even Burton's performance is much weaker than he is capable of, stiff and stagy, and hardly justifying the attraction this girl a third his age is supposed to feel for him.
The director takes the material seriously and keeps it from degenerating into exploitation (except for momentarily, in a lurid and ridiculous attempted rape sequence)... if only he managed to keep the audience interested. The plot plods and meanders, and the script seems to think it has something to significant to say, but can't decide what. If anyone is for some reason interested in seeing Tatum O'Neal's breasts (curious, considering that she must have been only 16 or 17 when the film was made), this is the place. Otherwise, Circle of Two should be of little interest to anyone. -
Ii_fut_in_gura_pe_stelisti14 July 2004IMDb mark: 5 Most people don't like this movie. It could be because of the subject matter; it could be because of Tatum O'Neal's character; it could be because of her age when she filmed this movie; or it might even be because they think Richard Burton has stooped too low by doing this film. I like it a bit, though, and I think I might watch it again when I get the chance; I wouldn't spend any money on renting it, however. -Cast: The main characters, Ashley St. Clair and Sarah Norton, are played by Richard Burton and Tatum O'Neal, respectively, who were both very famous before agreeing to appear in this. Michael Wincott, who plays Paul, also seems to have made a name of himself. 12/20 -Nudity: Sarah is topless for a few moments before Ashley tells and forces her to cover up. 13/20 -Ending: I didn't like the ending. It didn't have much shock value, like I would have expected from a film with a subject matter like this. Of course, taste varies. 3/15 -Acting: All the actors did a nice job, in my opinion. Especially Richard Burton. 10/11 -Plot: An under-age schoolgirl falls for a much older man. But does he love her back? 3/10 -Theme: Oh, I don't know, first love can never be forgotten? Or some other mushy crap in the same vein. 1/10 -Soundtrack: It's not bad, actually. I liked it. 8/10 -Genre: This is a drama. 1/4 -->Overall: 51/100 It's not boring, it's just much too simple, I guess. And I think it's aimed for people who like romance stories. I'm not one of those, so I can't give this film too much credit. I would suggest you avoid it, especially if you don't approve of big age differences in relationships. From Swordlord, no sword up, no sword down!
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ReadingFilm2 February 2023This was made by the legendary director Jules Dassin. A master director's intuition can lead the setting in a way that explode off screen, while still being deceptively plain, like a painting itself.
All this context is sort of alien for the 1980s romantic comedy it begins as. I could not resolve the love story at first, it is so off-key, so over-the-top and forced. I was expecting an edgy work from that generation who followed Dassin, especially with the comic set up with her in the porn theater at the start.
The second half totally re-frames the first. The melodrama makes it come alive. Because she is not believable as an 80s girl but a 40s girl in a Dassin noir.
Like those classic noirs the female is "female", an image its dramas stem from archetype. Or to put it simpler, the female is deadly.
The key is that Burton is never fully buying into it, or taking the love story seriously, and that we the audience shouldn't have been either.
The film peels back its own layers in a way you would see in an Ophuls or Fuller film. This meta narrative of the painter reveals the film within the film, that his attraction to her was not romantic, but in recapturing the past he is desperate to regain. In cinema, art and love are both a proxy for life, for redemption, and for the happy end.
We see that with how unpleasant he looks on screen, and his horror seeing the older man's face. While her love for him is her version of the art.
The performances begin to make sense as part of a larger vision.
None of this is for its time, it is rather a mark on that Hayes code era Dassin came in. You see the DNA of that old school way of cinema coming through, those hard-nosed golden era directors seeing through a different set of eyes, the bleakness and futility of the film. It becomes a pleasure. Melodrama is not just histrionics but about distilling the full range of human emotion inside the confines of a story. If you can get through the very awkward first half it becomes a gem. -
orionwaycb2 July 2017This is one of my favorite movies, in the romance category. Burton and Oneal are wonderful in their parts and totally believable. I think that is what I like best about the movie, it's portrayal of a TRUE love between two people, regardless of their age differences. I am a romantic and when I choose to love someone or something, I am all in.. just as Sarah and Ashley were in the movie. The movie is tastefully done, although personally I didn't like the ending... I'd hoped Ashley would have granted her wish, even knowing they were doomed.