Never let it be said that the movies are all about escapist entertainment and mindless buddy films. Well, at least not this week.
W. Somerset Maugham's 1925 novel "The Painted Veil" has been made into a film before, including a popular 1934 version staring Greta Garbo and Herbert Marshall. If it pops up on Turner Classic Movies, I'll make sure I watch it. I'd like to compare Garbo's adulterous wife with that of Naomi Watts, an actress who has recovered nicely from the failings of the third incarnation of "King Kong."
"The Painted Veil," book and movie, is a study of a bad marriage that is not without hope. The film's a character study and its resolution relies on its married characters achieving some sort of individual growth. Watts' Kitty is bored by her passionless husband, Walter, who's played by Edward Norton. He's a shy British doctor, a bacteriologist, whose entire life revolves around finding out why diseases take hold in communities.
For reasons of the plot, the feisty, silver spoon-bred Watts and the laconic and civilized Norton wed each other. Soon she realizes that he's a classic stick-in-the-mud and she isn't too thrilled to hear him say that they're heading off to sultry Shanghai from the comforts of London. While he's off on his daily medical doings, she gets into a torrid affair with a horny, albeit married, British diplomat (Liev Shreiber). Norton discovers the sin against his marriage, but being British he seethes internally.
But this doesn't stop him from playing a cruel trick on his wife. He says that he'll ruin her life with a messy divorce and disgrace her wealthy family back in London. Or -- deal or no deal -- she'll head into the hinterlands with him to find out why cholera is taking hold in one of the worst backwater villages in China. Then he'll let her quietly divorce him. Our meek little mouse has turned into a sadist, that's for sure.
The couple ends up in remote Guangxi Province. Moviegoers may find themselves amused at how the Brits really can maintain that stiff upper lip in the face of so much human misery and being so far away from simple pleasures like tea or a working piano.
Toby Jones plays the English governor of the province, a gnome of a man with his own sexual peccadilloes. The movie touches on British imperialism and the politics of smart white men controlling the destinies of various cultures and civilizations -- in this case, the vast land mass and people of China in the early part of the 20th century.
As time passes, Walter continues his mental abuse of Kitty while trying to impose his western scientific help on the locals, who are close to revolt against the "white devils." Kitty almost snaps, but the timely discovery of an orphanage, which is run by nuns, including a sweet-natured and good-hearted Diana Rigg, allows her to carry out good deeds and attempt to forget the fix she's in. Over time, she has lost track of the sex-starved diplomat.
Meanwhile, Walter realizes that his unfaithful scamp of a wife could have some substance to her after all. He hates her, but due to his class-conscious upbringing and impeccable manners, he really does have trouble coming to terms with the messy situation in which he finds himself. Hate leads to rekindled love, and before you can say, irrigation-ditch cholera begone, you wonder if everything might come up rosy for the couple.
Ah, but this is Maugham and he's a melodramatic writer and this very well-made, beautiful-looking movie is still a melodrama after all. Someone other than the villagers has to get cholera. Will it be the Mother Superior? Or the governor, who's also a sex-starved little scamp? Or the Chinese military officer who hates British doctors but recognizes their value? Will it be Walter? Or will it be Kitty?
Director John Curran and screenwriter Ron Nyswaner decided not to rely on the husband-and-wife mess created by Maugham to hold the audience's interest. They do play up China's cultural and political turmoil between the great wars and have created a film that actually tackles a few interesting issues. And they take great care in making sure Walter is seen as a devoted humanitarian, but also as a person who suffers from that most unique of international diseases: colonial superiority. There's a wonderful moment that comes when Walter sees Kitty caring for an orphaned baby. His look of admiration at his cheating wife almost melts your heart. Can they make it work?
"The Painted Veil" builds wonderfully on Maugham's framework, and you've got to admire the exquisite acting from both Norton and Watts. This is a thoroughly grown-up film about matters of the heart. In the wrong hands, it all would have seemed quaint. But happily, this movie is in the absolute right hands.
Although I have some quibbles about certain aspects of "Children of Men," I do recommend it as a fascinating example of dystopian cinema. Based on British mystery writer P.D. James' 1992 novel, the movie takes us into a future hell (the year 2027) when men are infertile and society has broken down.
Of course, Britain is faring better than most countries, but it's still a bit of a mess. A cynical bureaucrat (Clive Owen) is approached by an old flame (Julianne Moore) who runs with a group of activists called the Fishes. She wants Owen to get transit papers so that a young woman who -- yes, miracle of miracles -- is pregnant can be spirited out of the country on a slow boat to somewhere. I was never really sure where they wanted to take her. I also wanted further explanation of why everyone's sterile except the young pregnant lass, but that's not forthcoming. Look for your own religious analogies in all of this.
Director Alfonso Cuaron has created a vision of urban hell that jolts your senses. The movie's sound -- explosions, cries of anguish, a hint of doom -- is brilliant. The cinematography is top-notch. Owen plays an Everyman hero with just the right amount of craggy tough-guy noir we want. His pal, an aged happy hippie still listening to rock 'n' roll on vinyl, is deliciously played by Michael Caine. Of course, this wouldn't be a dystopian vision without a little fascism, and we get plenty of militarist boot-kicking.
"Children of Men" is a very smart movie that might have been one of the truly great movies if it had taken the time to answer the questions it raises. Movies are not life. They are stories, and there's no reason a good story can't explain details that need amplification.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | January 16 2007 |