We can clearly see here the novel has had concerning Potter's screenwriting style. She has commented that she always imagined the novel as visually and cinematically. The opening sentence "An English landscape in late summer" strips down descriptive writing to a purely visual literary core. Yet Potter still retains a novel like approach in her writing. Similar to the way in which she interpreted the novel visually, her writing is well descriptive and focuses on illuminating the visual aspects.
I find the use of a painting adds greatly to the intertexuality of the film and novel. In relation of the film, We grasp an idea of how Potter intends to frame her shots, with Orlando as the focal point of the room. The colors and filtering lights add to a desired production design that comes to life in the mise-en-scene of the film.The painting, like the cinematography, is symmetrically balanced which allows us to better relate to the focal point.
"The only narrative act is that Orlando finally writes (and writes, and writes). The writing is a way of looking back and questioning the different selves and reconciling them in one being." I find these notes reflect Potter's technique when she was writing various drafts of the screenplay. She said it involved great degrees of writing, more writing, and re-writing. It is interesting to note how her self reflective technique in writing the film reflects that of Orlando's writing.