I never forget a face but in your case I think I'll make an exception :)
I never forget a face but in your case I think I'll make an exception :)
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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 is single. She overhears her mother talking, saying that she fears Kitty is a lost cause, whilst subtle hints are dropped by her family 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 think he would steer clear of Kitty yet his weakness is his loneliness and he yearns a companion. He is due to move to Shanghai
with his work as a bacteriologist (which does nothing to add to his appeal) and the moment he meets the sumptuous, single Kitty, he seeks to snare her.
However seemingly inappropiate this match appears and how both are seeking marriage for the wrong reasons, Kitty takes his hand in marriage and in doing so, engages the marriage into a collision course with jeopardy. Predictably and quickly the marriage runs into trouble. Walter's lack of passion and inability to show love just isn't enough for fun loving Kitty. She seeks something more and once the handsome, appealing Charlie Townsend enters her life, an affair is but a formality.
Suspicious Walter stumbles onto the affair and true to his nature offers his wife a solution to their troubles in his calm manner. He will grant her a divorce if Charles Townsend agrees to marry her. Naive Kitty also true to her nature is shocked to learn Townsend refuses to leave his wife. She returns to Walter, tail firmly between her legs and is compelled to follow him inland when he moves to a cholera infested town, to lend his expertise.
Bitterness divides them. Walter is intent on punishing her, aware that the previous doctor and his wife perished to the disease. He despises her and treats her with contempt. She despises him, he is nothing like the man she wishes to be married to. Her current predicament fill her with misery and worthlessness. They are complete opposites and silence reigns in their new surroundings of Mei-tan-fu.
This is a period drama absolutely draped in beautiful cinematography. The scenery, costumes and colour are something to behold. Merchant/ Ivory style the story is visually stunning to watch. The majority of the film is shot in Guilin, Guangxi in Southern China therefore authenticity remains intact throughout. Direction centres intensively on the Fane's resulting in amazing character examination. Such an examination requires strong leads and thats exactly what we got. Edward Norton (Fight Club/ The Illusionist) and Naomi Watts (The Ring/ Mulholland Drive) are both exceptional. Norton in particular is brilliant as the always restained, whatever the situation, Walter Fane. Such an inward character I would imagine would be hard to energise but he does with aplomb. Such character examination has resulted in a lack of supporting talent but thats not to say there was none. Liv Screiber as Charlie Townsend is typically dapper and Toby Jones is delightful as the likable rogue Waddington, an unuspecting ally to both the Fane's in Mei-tan-fu.
China at that time was going through social upheaval. Socialism and Nationalism were in conflict. Wealth and poverty equally so. This film captures moods and history with a vivid resonance helped again by the appealing backdrops. The films tagline is apt "Sometimes the greatest journey is the distance between two people." Walter and Kitty and the circumstances they find themselves in, go on a voyage of self discovery which they both find, will end together somehow. Kitty's journey is particularly harrowing because the story focuses on her and by the end she discovers more about herself. The Kitty at the end of film is in complete contrast to the Kitty at the beginning yet they cast the same reflection. She entered Mei-tan-fu with a duplicitious past, full of feelings of pointlessness but when she leaves, she will be a woman full of charisma, energy, virtues and love and she will be a better woman. This film is a hidden gem. One of the best films of 2006, certainly the best film I saw over Christmas and I saw many. It has recieved critical acclaim but is little known in this country. It is very much aimed at the adult generation. This is a picture I urge you to see and not be touched.
104 minutes Rated : PG Released : 2006 Directed by : John Curran Screenplay by : Ron Nyswaner Cinematography : Scott Dryburgh Featured Cast : Naomi Watts/ Edward Norton/ Liv Schreiber/ Toby Jones.
WormThatTurned2009
Pictures of The Painted Veil
Just some of the backdrops
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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
We saw this one at the cinema and really enjoyed it, partly due to the superb performances, but also thanks to the wonderful photography. May well add this to our DVD collection. Richard.
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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Feb 8th, 2009
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