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2006
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THE
PAINTED VEIL
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STARRING:EDWARD
NORTON,NAOMI WATTS,LIEV SCHRIEBER,TOBY JONES, DIANA RIGG,ANTHONY WONG
CHAU-SANG
BASED
ON THE NOVEL BY W.SOMERSET MAUGHAM
SCREENPLAY
BY RON NYSWANER
PRODUCED
BY SARA COLLETON, JEAN-FRANCOIS FONLUPT,EDWARD NORTON,NAOMI WATTS,BOB
YARI
DIRECTED
BY JOHN CURRAN
GENRE:DRAMA/ROMANCE
RATED:AUSTRALIA:M/UK:12A/USA:PG-13
RUNNING
TIME:125 MIN
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The
Painted Veil is a very well made period piece set during a politically
tumultuous time in Chinese history. The film is based on the novel
of the same name by acclaimed author W. Somerset Maugham, and had
been adapted to the big screen twice before, once in 1934 (starring
Great Garbo and Herbert Marshall), and again in 1957 with the film
re-named The Seventh Sin (starring Eleanor Parker and Bill Travers).
Actor/producer Edward Norton bought the movie rights to the novel,
and laboured for years to get the film made.
Set during the 1920's, the film stars Naomi Watts as Kitty, a spoilt
and snobby socialite from a well off family who marries bacteriologist
and civil servant Doctor Walter Fey (Edward Norton) to please her
parents and up her social status. They both move to Shanghai where
Edward is stationed at a Government lab, and Kitty embarks on an affair
with British diplomat and womanizer Charles Townsend (Live Schreiber).
When Edward finds out about Kitty's infidelity, he punishes her by
volunteering himself for a town doctor position in a cholera infested
village in Mainland China, forcing Kitty to accompany him under the
threat that he will divorce her under the grounds of adultery if she
refuses. Yet only when they found themselves in a strange during a
devastating time do Kitty and Edward finally begin to understand and
love each other.
Director John Curran has crafted a visually rich and subtle melodrama,
which was mainly shot on location at the Guilin, Lijiang River in
China. The Painted Veil is indeed a lavish looking film with
cinematographer Stuart Dryburgh providing plenty of picturesque imagery
of the Chinese countryside. Also, film composer Alexandre Desplat
provides a moving score which masterfully backs up the films scenery
and emotional undercurrent.
The film is bolstered by the performances of its two lead actors,
which is no surprise considering that Norton and Watts are highly
talented thespians that have given often powerful performances over
the last decade or so. They flesh out there characters rather well,
brining depth and humility along with a reserved charm which their
British counterparts do so well. The bitterness that their two characters
feel for each other is properly conveyed, and the sweet and often
humorous courtship that follows also works very well. However, a big
flaw lies in Curran's inability to let his lead characters love for
one another to mature, a move which inevitably comes back to haunt
the film during several pivotal scenes that should have been filled
with emotion, yet is disappointingly void of feeling.
Supporting roles are filled quite nicely by the likes of Toby Jones,
Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, a devilishly charming Live Schreiber, and
former Avengers TV star Diana Rigg who is exceptional as the Mother
Superior of a Catholic run orphanage and hospital.
The Painted Veil is a very good film, but would be much better had
the romance of its key characters been given the chance to evolve.
This would have drawn the necessary emotional investment from its
audience, and would have done wonders for its conclusion.
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