The White Countess DVD > Reviews > Cold Comfort

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Indifferent to it
Story	Satisfactory
Characters / Performances	Satisfactory
Special Effects	Standard
How does it compare to similar films?	Satisfactory

Advantages:	Technically excellent
Disadvantages:	Emotionally cold

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

During the politically turbulent 1930s Former American diplomat Todd Jackson retreats to Shanghai after losing his sight and his family. He plans to build the perfect bar and befriends the mysterious Matsuda, even after being warned the Japanese is employed to plan the invasion of China. He meets impoverished Russian noblewoman Sofia in bar where she works as a dancer and part-time prostitute. She supports her extended family financially but they take her for granted. And as the turmoil that will lead to the Second World War grows, the two begin a tentative relationship that brings both hope and despair.

Like many Merchant Ivory productions, "The White Countess" is a richly detailed evocation of a bygone era. In Ismail Merchant's hands inter-war Shanghai comes to life, showing the decadence of the nightclubs available to only the richest ex-patriots with the harsh existence of the less fortunate. At night the rich and beautiful come together in velvet-swathed rooms where the drinks flow ceaselessly and the patrons listen to jazz whilst wearing silks and velvets. But by day the city is a grey, industrial rabbit warren wreathed in smoke. Todd Jackson lives in understated opulence in a mansion characterised by dark woods and polished floors while Sofia and her family live squashed into little more than a shack in a run-down ghetto, where you aren't even guaranteed a bed. He is cocooned by privilege and wealth while she and her daughter struggle to get by amidst a disapproving and religious family.

As always Merchant's direction is elegant but strangely distant. I suppose this is to be expected in a world where relationships are governed by social etiquette. But instead of being the story of a grand, if unrealised passion, it becomes more of an historical mood piece. Despite a technically excellent cast that reads like Who's Who of British acting aristocracy, there is no emotional centre to the film. There may be montages of growing unrest in the capital and flashes of newspaper headlines telling of the increasing political unease between China and Japan, but there's no real sense of tension. This impedes the pacing and it often feels like you're sleepwalking through a dream. Even when the Japanese finally invade, events retain a sense of hazy unreality. Despite the huge pyrotechnic display, it doesn't feel as if there's a human cost to the insurgence. And you aren't afforded the luxury of a concrete ending so you may feel unmoved by the preceding hundred and thirty-eight minutes.

The screenplay by "Remains of the Day" writer Kazuo Ishiguro is yet another romantic drama of manners. Instead of full-blown passion, we get restrained longing and rather than breaking away from her domineering family, Sofia merely suffers their emotional abuse in serene silence. Considering her fragility, this seems highly improbable. The plotting throughout feels tortuous, with everything filtered through the period's codes of moral acceptability. So there is a feeling of exasperating inaction running through the movie. This is reflected by the speed at which Todd and Sofia's relationship grows. They reveal confidences to each other at a snail's pace and you can't help wishing they'd just get on with it. It isn't helped by the stereotypical portrayal of lugubrious Russians that would rather complain about their situations than do anything about it. Sofia's family come across as a bunch of hypocritical harridans, who don't mind profiting from her dubious employment, so long as they don't have to admit what she actually does. Unfortunately they appear a bunch of villainous archetypes that exist only as a contrast to Sofia's near saintly forbearance. In fact none of the characters has the requisite humanity to convince as a real person. They are all too damaged yet resilient to be entirely truthful and not one succumbs to their passions or despair. Similarly the dialogue throughout is too considered, too veiled and too polite to ring true.

I'm not sure why Ralph Fiennes has been cast as an American. There's no doubt he's a fine actor, but he never seems comfortable with the accent and there is something quintessentially English about him. He plays Todd Jackson as a bashful man uncomfortable with others because they threaten his insulated internal life. It's interesting to see him play someone that is both vulnerable and inured against outsiders. And though he makes a good job of it on a technical level, there's something that stops it from being a complete performance. It's as though he isn't feeling what the character feels and this extends to a lack of chemistry with his co-star.

Natasha Richardson certainly has the bearing to convince as someone of aristocratic birth. But she's too highly strung to elicit sympathy from the audience. Though she shows some inner fortitude, she's too willing to let her family run her life for her to be a strong heroine. Richardson gives a brittle, fidgety performance that hints at something extra under the surface, but she never lets go and is too controlled to convince on an emotional level and her thick accent is a bridge too far.

The supporting cast features committed performances from Vanessa and Lynn Redgrave as Sofia's mother and aunt respectively. They come across almost as aristocratic witches, pushing Sofia into a life of shame so they can reap the benefits and retain the moral high ground. Both are poisonous old hags that are impossible to like. As Matsuda, Hiroyuki Sanada appears warm, friendly and open despite clearly having his own agenda. He plays against the character's intentions and makes for a likeable presence. Alan Corduner is another friendly and human face in an otherwise cold ensemble as merchant and father of many Samuel Feinstein. He's an affable man that takes life as it comes and makes the most of the little he has. No wonder he's the one Sofia turns to when things get rough.

The score by Richard Robbins combines the blowsy jazz of the nightclubs with traditional Chinese music like feadog, timpani and bamboo flutes to contrast the different ways of life in cosmopolitan Shanghai. He also uses strident piano at times of tension and wistful flutes to give the proceedings a more hopeful air.

The costume design throughout is exquisite. It nails the period beautifully, with delicately detailed dresses for both day and night. Obviously those of the nightclub patrons and the working girls are made of luxurious silks, satins and velvets in floor-skimming cuts that show off the décolletage and are accented by delicate pieces of sparkling jewellery. These are in harsh contrast to the practical and sober clothes of Sofia's family. The men are dressed in sharp suits that ooze good tailoring and some are so well-fitted you can practically see the hand stitching.

"The White Countess" is, like many Merchant Ivory productions, beautiful to look at but cold to the touch. There isn't a strong enough sense of seething passions to keep you interested in the central relationship. So you may find you spend more time looking at the scenery than the actors. Though the recreation of the past is impressive and flawless, it isn't enough to carry the film. Unless you're a hardcore enthusiast of period films, I suspect there will be little here to interest you.