Geraldine
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
Kirpianuscus
the beauty of novel. the beauty as result of clash between images of London and Venice, for the grace of performances, music and the option of characters who are not only known but defined but each root - scene. Helena Bonham Carter does an admirable work. not a surprise but useful instrument for discover new sides of Kate Croy. Aunt Maude by Charlotte Rampling is not only a realistic portrait of character but one of inspired ways to define the essence of story. a seductive adaptation preserving the flavor of a great novel. and o remarkable proof of refined style to give the image of a drama in the light of its period life. short, an experience. useful and touching.
Kaleko
This is a great film to watch when you are feeling a little melancholy and want to be taken away somewhere else- Somewhere far away, and subdued.It was a slow yet enjoyable film. I would say that some might find it boring. It is true that the plot is fairly simple, and you have to wait a while for the few twists and turns it has. Though, it does always have something interesting going on, and the pace is decent for what it is. But if you don't enjoy long cerebral romances and period films, you probably won't enjoy this.I have to say it was visually appealing. This helps the film from becoming boring. Also the two leading ladies are gorgeous. You see the beauty of darkness in Kate and the beauty of sunshine in Millie- like night and day. I must agree fully with Lord Mark's comment about Kate's eyes.What was great about this film was the acting, presentation, mood, and lesson.Okay spoiler time, because I'd like to share my opinions on what happened. What I took away from this film is that it is not a good idea to persuade your love, for whatever reason, to be with another, even if it seems like a good idea at the time! Ha. Though I fully sympathized with Kate. She wasn't the sociopath that you often see in stories like this. She actually did care for Millie, and it seemed that she tried to convince herself that it would actually be good for Millie, at first. Although, the way she did try to break them up was a little heartless to her friend. But you can understand how it would be difficult for her to find any other way to do it. I suppose she could have admitted it to Millie herself, but I would think she might be too ashamed to do this. And anyways, she did say "this is the first time I didn't feel bad for her." She was jealous, and whilst at first she may not have expected herself to feel jealous, I think we can all understand the lack of sympathy we might have for someone if we did truly become jealous of them. So it is a little understandable that she would have hurt her friend. Besides, her friend would have been hurt anyway if she knew the truth with whatever way she found out, and she did deserve to know it.The best part for me was the ending where she was turned away by Merton. (By the way, did anyone else notice how at the end, Kate laid in the same position as the woman in the painting she asked Millie to look at?) I didn't fully expect her to be rejected. But it did make sense afterwards, as he was faced with a truly good human being, and felt so wretched about what he and Kate did to Millie, and finally realized that Kate wasn't such a great person after all. I think he was put off by the selfishness in Kate's final demand. I think if she hadn't requested that, he might have let bygones be bygones. But seriously, one can understand why she felt hurt and worried about throwing away so much to pursue this "true" love that she wasn't sure still existed. She was worried she already lost him to another woman and missed his undying singular commitment to her. But I can see why Merton would be so offended. Her request really did speak of an ignorance and uncaring about his feelings which may have developed, which were all her fault to begin with. I honestly thought it was a little silly for Kate to make her final demand. I mean honestly, she loved Millie and she should have realized that it was only natural to love such a great person. Besides, it's not like she would truly be a threat any more, 6 feet under! All things fade with time. Kate was honest with him about her feelings and intentions, so I don't think that Merton should have turned her away due to a lack of trust. Especially since she did change her mind in the end about going through with the plan. But I do suppose he could have resented the fact that she wanted money so badly, or acted so selfishly, or lied at all, and would have never known whether she was with him for his money after he got it. I suppose that was where his demand came from. But the fact she agreed to marry him should have been enough. He should have called her silly when she brought up her side of the bargain, and admitted that yes he loved the memory of Millie, just as Kate found herself loving her. I mean come on, Millie was an easy person to love, and Kate should have understood that. Besides, if Kate truly just wanted Merton for the money, she wouldn't have made her request.But really, they probably did need some time apart. I think that later on, they probably would find themselves back together after they had healed from the experience.One last thing I wanted to mention - The scene where Merton was crying was amazing. I don't think I've ever seen such a realistic portrayal of a man crying on screen before. He really nailed that one, and I felt very sympathetic to the feelings he was portraying.Anyway, it really was a wonderful film. It was very grey in its portrayal of the goodness and badness of the characters, which I like, and which isn't easy to do. It also made you think. I only downgraded it a bit because the storyline, while nicely portrayed, wasn't anything really spectacular.
evanston_dad
The inevitable question will be: is "The Wings of the Dove" faithful to its source material? I, alas, can't answer that question for you, because to me Henry James's novel was 800 pages of random words strung together in ways that resembled sentences but made absolutely no other kind of sense. I'd rather be bludgeoned to death with one of his books than ever have to read another one -- the movie version could have featured transvestite cyborgs for all I cared; as long as I wasn't actually having to read it, I was a happy boy.The film is pretty good, about what you'd expect from a period piece based on a famous literary classic. It's got more pizazz than a Merchant-Ivory production, and boasts a great performance from a Merchant-Ivory regular, Helena Bonham Carter. It's nothing special, but probably worth a watch.Grade: B
mick-137
When the film came out a lot of people commented on the way the adaptation shifted the action forward in time to 1910.I was puzzled too but on re-viewing the film it was clear that this was to enable the filmmakers to draw on the more socially aware painting styles of the time. Essentially Kate and Merton are two people who are stuck in the oeuvre of Walter Sickert and want to move upmarket into Whistler territory. But they fail and are doomed to spend the rest of their lives in squalid Camden Town scenes. Incidentally this means there are artistically valid reasons for Helena Bonham Carter getting her kit off--the final scene is pretty much Sickert's "What Shall We Do for the Rent?" with live actors. While this visual metaphor is superbly played out, it is at the expense of James' intricate verbal edifices. The film grates when anyone opens their mouth: as animated paintings, the characters are literally two-dimensional. This is a film which is at its best when no-one is saying anything, and would have worked much better as a silent movie.
