... The darkness of London is contrasted with peach-hued Shanghai, whose exoticism is then compared with the natural beauty and roughness of verdant rural China and the squalor of the grey cholera ward. There is tons of period detail that gives you a feel for the era, from Kitty's exquisite cut-glass ... Read review
Based on the classic novel by W. Somerset Maugham, The Painted Veil is an epic and ... more
captivating love story set in the 1920s.A young English couple, Walter, a middle-class doctor, and Kitty, an upper-class woman, get married for the wrong reasons and rel...
Sometimes the greatest journey is the distance between two people Based on the novel by ... more
W. Somerset Maugham The Painted Veil is a love story set in the 1920s that tells the story of a young English couple Walter (Edward Norton) and Kitty (Naomi Watt...
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Walter Fane a bacteriologist stationed in Hong Kong discovers his beautiful but shallow ... more
wife Kitty is having an affair. His revenge is strange but terrible: Kitty must accompany him to his new posting in remote mainland China where a cholera epide...
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Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Advantages: Good supporting performances, great costume design and cinematography. Disadvantages: Simplistic characterisation.
...diplomat Charlie Townsend. Caught in the act by her husband, he punishes her by taking her deep into the Chinese interior where cholera is ravaging the local population. But isolated from the outside world, the two begin to appreciate each other and slowly fall in love…
Australian director John Curran breaks into the preserve of Merchant Ivory with this sumptuous period drama. It's a portrait of repressed emotions and denied sexuality ... ...a prestige production, which means the producers want to know where the money's going. So that means sweeping panoramas of rural China, a top-drawer cast and exquisite attention to period detail. In a concession to modernity there's also a circular narrative that has us beginning at the end before flashing back almost immediately to the start of the story. Curran cross-cuts different periods of the relationship so you can see how it progresses. That ... more
Kitty is a spoiled socialite who marries dull bacteriologist Walter Fane to get away from her stifling mother. As soon as they are married, Walter is shipped out to China where an epidemic is taking place. On her own in Shanghai, Kitty begins an ill-advised affair with British diplomat Charlie Townsend. Caught in the act by her husband, he punishes her by taking her deep into the Chinese interior where cholera is ravaging the local population. But isolated from the outside world, the two begin to appreciate each other and slowly fall in love…
Australian director John Curran breaks into the preserve of Merchant Ivory with this sumptuous period drama. It's a portrait of repressed emotions and denied sexuality set against a backdrop of personal retribution, disease and political unrest. This is a prestige production, which means the producers want to know where the money's going. So that means sweeping panoramas of rural China, a top-drawer cast and exquisite attention to period detail. In a concession to modernity there's also a circular narrative that has us beginning at the end before flashing back almost immediately to the start of the story. Curran cross-cuts different periods of the relationship so you can see how it progresses. That apart, there are precious few surprises in store; there's a certain inevitability to the characters' actions and how their relationship will develop. However some of the most important aspects of the marriage are glossed over, as we see in the punishing journey overland through China, where Naomi Watts simply gets more wilted.
But the quality of the production design cannot be denied - the director discriminates between different ways of life by juxtaposing the opulence of Kitty's parents' house with the sparseness of Walter's flat. The darkness of London is contrasted with peach-hued Shanghai, whose exoticism is then compared with the natural beauty and roughness of verdant rural China and the squalor of the grey cholera ward. There is tons of period detail that gives you a feel for the era, from Kitty's exquisite cut-glass jewellery, to simple but well-cut dresses and decently tailored suits. Perhaps as a reaction to the period setting of the film, the performances throughout seem heightened. At times it feels like the heroine will bring the back of her hand to her forehead and faint away in a dead swoon. I suppose it suits the style of the story and is effective in foregrounding the main themes. The cinematography is lovely once we get into the heart of China, revelling in the verdant greens and rugged landscapes. The pace is solid throughout, but the film feels overlong. It's a finely crafted hundred-and-twenty-five minutes, but the unsympathetic characters make it feel a bit of a slog at times.
The screenplay by Ron Nyswaner, based on the novel of the same name by W Somerset Maugham focuses on the cruelty of Kitty and Walter's relationship. She mistreats him emotionally, while he punishes her infidelity with a gruelling trek through the Chinese interior. But once they are stripped of the fripperies of "civilisation", they develop a deeper understanding of each other and their former antipathies dwindle then turn to understanding and love. The characterisation is perhaps a little simplistic, but this could be due to the age of the source material. Kitty is the archetypal spoilt debutante, who is more concerned with appearances and her own enjoyment than anything else. Because we've seen this kind of woman a million times before, it's easy to see how the character will develop into a more sympathetic and compassionate person. Similarly, you know that Walter will become less distant and more human as the story progresses. The supporting characters also feel a touch clichéd; the caddish diplomat, the foreign office man gone native and the saintly mother superior have all been seen before. The dialogue works because it focuses on the clipped language of the British ex-pat community and reflects the imperialist attitudes of the time by always referring to the Chinese as "them".
It's always difficult for an American actor to play an Englishman because of the accent. Though Edward Norton tries his hardest in the part of Walter Fane, his peculiar vowel-sounds undermine him and it's hard to believe in him as the character. It's a shame because otherwise his performance is detailed and multi-faceted. In his hands the bacteriologist is by turns serious and self-important, cold and vindictive, shy and underneath it all, a good man trying hard to do the right thing. It is to Norton's credit that he manages all the gear shifts so adeptly, so the character flows. And you can believe his growing chemistry with his on-screen wife.
Naomi Watts has trouble keeping up as the spoilt Kitty, because the character is more superficial. She's irritating because she's so patent in the way she marries to escape her home-life. She's frivolous, selfish and brittle and the complete antithesis of Walter. Her sole redeeming feature is her passion and that is hard to see when she's pining for Charlie whilst wilting from the heat. It's only in the final stages of the film she becomes truly human and that after a long transformative process, so she's quite difficult to like. So I suppose Watts at least shows breadth in her choice of roles.
Liev Schreiber showcases a great cut-glass English accent as philandering diplomat Charlie Townsend. He's a dashing cad with all the polish of the aristocracy and the self-serving interests of a thorough bounder. But you can see why Kitty is attracted to him. Toby Jones is brilliantly cast as Waddington, the British diplomat gone native - he feels like he's wandered straight out of a Graham Greene novel. He has the balance between wilful eccentricity and world-weary wisdom just right. He comes across as a cheery Johnny Foreign Office who can tell exactly which way the wind's blowing at any moment.
The original music by Alexandre Desplat gives substance to the movie with its impressive and swelling orchestral arrangements. The movie begins with insistent tolling gongs, speedy piano and a rising string section that reflect both the seriousness and speed of bacterial cell division, as shown in the opening titles. The central themes of betrayal and deception are encompassed by deep music box chimes with dark strings and flutes. The sense of seriousness is continued by passages of rising strings, woodwinds and deep piano when Kitty is discovered with her lover. The small town of Mei Tan Fu is represented by traditional Chinese instruments, while the convent merits wistful flutes and sad strings for its dying and orphaned inmates. The Chinese Nationalists get their due with threatening feadog and booming drum motifs and the arrival of the infected is accompanied by tolling tubular bells. It is an effective score that suits the mood and tone of the film.
"The Painted Veil" is a solid example of the heritage picture that features strong performances, confident direction and capable writing. It is a trifle overlong and is sometimes weighed down by its sense of self-importance. It plays as though everyone knows that what they are making is art and not entertainment. But there are moments when it combines the intimate and the epic to great effect. If you like the work of W Somerset Maugham and/or you like a good period movie, this could be right up your street. But bear in mind that to get the most out of the cinematography, you should watch it on a wide-screen TV.
Advantages: Stirring emotional historical drama. Breathtaking scenery. Disadvantages: A little predictable.
...people and events. He wrote The Painted Veil in 1925, a novel which had to be revised at least twice to eliminate references to people that were still living. Such was the popularity of this book that it inspired three films; The Painted Veil (1934), The Seventh Veil (1957) and The Painted Veil (2006).
I have seen the first two films many times and loved them both. So whilst browsing the DVDs in Tesco for something interesting to watch, I couldn't ... ...Set in the 1920s London, Shanghai and China with filming taking place on location in China itself, the scenery is breathtaking; the costumes wonderful and what struck me in particular was the historical elements of the film - the medical equipment, the cholera wards, beds, the sedan chairs and carriages and so on and so on.
Of course Somerset Maugham trained in medicine so had a good knowledge of the equipment and treatment of cholera in the 1920s ...
MAFARRIMOND 16.09.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Painted Veil
Advantages: good acting, nice scenery Disadvantages: -
...useful. I haven't been to the cinema in ages so I looked in my email Inbox a few days ago to notice something from Impulse about a free screening. I automatically clicked on it as I used to regularly go to free screenings and don't like to pass up the chance to see a film for free. I printed off my voucher took it to the nearest listed cinema in exchange for two tickets. The screening was for a film called 'The Painted Veil', I hadn't heard of it ... ...it looked quite good and the cast wasn't bad either.
When I walked into the screen I was very nicely greeted with a goody bag compliments of Impulse which was actually quite nice, it had a few snacks and freebies in it. At first the film starts in a 1920's sort of party we see Kitty (Naomi Watts) coming down the stairs and then she looks at Walter Fane (Ed Norton) he asks her to dance. We then see Kitty at home the next day being quizzed about if ...
ms19 18.04.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Painted Veil
Advantages: Cinematography/ Acting Disadvantages: Sad love story
This is the third cinematic adaption of the 1925 novel by the same name from W.Somerset Maugham. I havn't seen the previous two but they would have to be masterful to better this version which has been skilfully directed by John Curran.
It is the story of two intriguing characters, Walter and Kitty Fane and their intrinsically fateful relationship.
Kitty is a socialite in 1920's London. She loves the nicer things in life and is beautiful yet she ... ...that she cannot rely on the privileges she enjoys forever. She may be beautiful but Kitty is emphatically selfish and shallow. When a man, Walter Fane shows her attention, and later asks for her hand in marriage, she behaves without emotion or love. Her only thought herself.
Walter Fane meanwhile is a respectable man. He is knowing and wise yet he is lonely. More importantly he lacks the ability to show human emotion. Given his credentials you'd ...
WormThatTurned 08.02.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Painted Veil
Advantages: Visually stunning, beautiful love story Disadvantages: None for me
...from her mother. Sure enough, the marriage is not a happy one and shortly after the couple move to nineteen twenties' Shanghai, where Walter has a job as a bacteriologist, Kitty embarks on an affair. When Walter finds out about the affair, he gives Kitty two options - she can accompany him to a cholera-infested part of China where Walter is planning to battle against the outbreak or she can have a quiet divorce, provided that her lover will marry ... ...risk from both cholera and the wrath of the locals, who resent foreign involvement in their lives, all without any support from her husband. Slowly though, and against all odds, Walter and Kitty find their outlook on life changing. Is it enough to save their marriage? I always regard films that involve China or the Chinese with suspicion. I have seen so many that misrepresent the country and its people, and having lived there for a third of my life, ...
sunmeilan 13.11.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Painted Veil
Advantages: beautiful story, acting and location Disadvantages: the sad bit at the end!
...picked this film up in the video store, and rented it. I had no clue what it was about, other than the synopsis on the back. I've always been a fan of Edward Norton and Naomi Watts, so I wondered how it could possibly fail to win me over. The story begins following Kitty (Naomi Watts) as an unmarried woman in a family with a harsh mother who wishes to see her eldest daughter married now. When Dr Walter Fane attends a party at her 1920s London home, ... ...impressed. To escape the droning of her mother, she marries him anyway, and they move back to Shanghai when he works as a bacteriologist. After discovering his wife having a affair, Walter delivers an ultimatum to Kitty - leave Shanghai for a cholera epidemic in rural China, or he will divorce her. Unable to face the prospect of divorce, Kitty leaves her whole life behind. She is now trapped in a dying town with a husband who dislikes her. This story ...
elvenflame 25.06.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Painted Veil
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Naomi Watts reappears as Rachel Keller. I am always in two minds about Watts as an actress. I generally think she's quite bland, but I thought her performance in PaintedVeil more than made up for it. As Rachel, she is not quite bland - I found her extremely irritating on occasion - but I certainly didn't think she was all that brilliant. I'm not quite sure why I found her irritating - at least some of the time it was because I felt her behaviour wasn't very convincing, but that could have been more to do with the director than her acting. I haven't completely written her off as an actress, but I must admit I wouldn't go out of my way to see any of her other work after this.
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Advantages: Excellent performance from Toby Jones Disadvantages: Doesn't quite compare to the other Capote film
having seen Seymour Hoffman's performance, which I thought spectacular, I didn't really expect Toby Jones to do anything extraordinary. I was wrong. He was fantastic. Once I had got over the silly voice (which I have read is far more like Capote's real voice than Seymour Hoffman's), which is a little off-putting at first - it sounds a bit like a child on helium - I quickly found myself glued to the screen. It seems as if the role was made for him, to the extent that I forgot that he is an actor. I have been impressed with Toby Jones before - I loved him as Waddington in The PaintedVeil - but I think he excelled himself here and he is every bit as good as Seymour Hoffman. I think that the producers have done him a great disservice by bringing out the film so soon after Capote though - he will always be compared, and quite possibly negatively ...
sunmeilan 17.11.2007
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DVD Region
DVD
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Main Language
English
Professional reviews
Review
The always surprising Watts creates a woman at once contemporary and retro (Entertainment Weekly, 16/04/2007)
THE PAINTED VEIL has the power and intimacy of a timeless love story. By all means, let it sweep you away (Rolling Stone, 16/04/2007)
Technical information
Sound
Dolby Digital
Special Features
Trailer, Making of featurette with Edward Norton, Naomi Watts and John Curran
DVD Description
The third film version of Somerset Maugham’s 1925 novel--directed by John Curran--is ripe with stunning Chinese locales and a smart turn from Naomi Watts as Kitty Fane, the aging English socialite who must put herself in strange and turbulent surroundings before she finds her true self. A complex and beautiful international production, this adaptation benefits greatly from the lack restrictions that inhibited it’s previous incarnations in 1925 (with Greta Garbo) and in 1957 (as THE SEVENTH SIN). After pressure from her wealthy parents to settle down, Kitty (Naomi Watts) marries mild-mannered bacteriologist Walter (Edward Norton), despite her lack of love for him. Shortly after their vows, he takes her to Shanghai, where she immediately has an affair with Charles Townsend (Liev Shrieber), an English Vice Consul. Walter becomes aware of Kitty’s indiscretion and promptly whisks her away to the mountain village of Mei-tan-fu, where they befriend another English expat, the secretly decadent Deputy Commissioner Waddington (Toby Jones, in an extremely likeable performance). Walter begins working to hold an encroaching cholera epidemic at bay---leaving Kitty to ponder her role in the situation as death looms over the village like a spectre. A labour of love that took the better part of a decade for producer Norton and screenwriter Ron Nyswaner, THE PAINTED VEIL is a large, complex, and visually sumptuous production that employed a primarily Chinese crew on its intense location shoots. Norton’s passion for the material is on full display, as he turns in another solid performance. Watts, however, who portrayed another unfaithful wife in Curran’s previous film WE DON’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE (2004), is the heart of the film, all bee-stung lips and sweat on porcelain skin. Romantic, escapist entertainment in the best sense, THE PAINTED VEIL is yet more proof that there is an endless pool of silver screen potential in the classics of literature.
![The Painted Veil Dvd [2007] | Jones Sealed](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/106092385.jpg "The Painted Veil Dvd [2007] | Jones Sealed")
