Mmmm Edward Norton and Naomi Watts... Eye candy for everyone...
Despite the distraction of beautiful and talented leading actors, "The Painted Veil," based on the 1925 novel by W. Somerset Maughan, is a beautiful film. Set in the Chinese equivalent of the end of the British Raj in India, the nationalist upheaval which led to the Maoist revolution is just beginning. There are riots over how European and American businesses treat their Chinese employees and lots of anti-foreign agitating. There is also heat, disease and boredom for a society girl married to an infectious disease researcher.
Dr. Walter Fane (Norton), a young English medical researcher in Shanghai, meets, falls in love with and marries Kitty (Watts) on a trip to London. He marries her for love, she marries him to get as far away as possible from her dominating mother.
When they arrive in Shanghai, Walter is a bit embarrassed by his home, but promises Kitty that he will do whatever he can to make her happy.
The potential SPOILER BIT STARTS HERE and goes four paragraphs.
This includes ignoring her affair with Charlie Townsend (Liev Schreiber at his sleaziest).
When Walter reaches his breaking point he volunteers to go to an inland town which is suffering a cholera outbreak. He tells Kitty she can either go with him or that he will divorce her if Townsend divorces his wife and agrees to marry her.
Walter makes the trip inland as uncomfortable and long as possible for Kitty.
Through the eyes of the French Nuns who run the orphanage and hospital, Waddington (Toby Jones) who I believe is the British Counsel for the region (sorry I've forgotten his title), and Walter's own devoted work as a clinician for the first time in his career, Kitty learns to love Walter. He also comes to forgive her based on her own selfless actions during the epidemic. Alas, this mutual love in their marriage is too late, as cholera conquers love.
END OF SPOILER
This movie ends badly and well as 1920's novels so often do.
Kitty is a better person at the end of the film. Her personal growth may seem a bit rushed, but the movie is so well made it is easy to imagine the long days and longer nights of the epidemic.
Naomi Watts, like Helen Mirren in "The Queen", deserves an Oscar nomination for her role as Kitty. Though I still think that Mirren deserves to win.
Norton's performance is as good as I've seen this year and one of his finest since "American History X." I really liked "The Illusionist" at Sundance last year, and think this is better. Norton has found an unlikely niche in first quarter of the 20th century period pieces.
1 comment:
nothing wrong with your praise of naomi watts and your comment that she should be nominated along with helen mirren. but there is one thing about your review that is totally off the mark. as clearly intended by both the maugham's novel and the adapted script, this is the story of kitty (watts) and her self-discovery journey in china where amidst a cholera epidemic and a life-and-death experience she found love with her vengeful husband, a bacteriorlogist walter (norton). both norton and curran agreed this is primarily a woman's story told from the viewpoint of kitty, not walter. that's why naomi watts is the 1st cast lead of the film and norton is 2nd listed. your review is incorrect by up-playing and telling the film from the viewpoint of walter/ norton. you shouldn't have slighted naomi watts by downplaying her role.
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