(Watched in Toronto)
I am so impressed with this second rendering of one of Somerset Maugham's shorter novels to the big screen that I'm tempted to call it a "masterpiece", even when it has received only one Golden Globe nomination (original score).
The movie opens with an absolutely silent frame that has a thunderous impact standing absolutely still, figures hero and heroine clad in white against the lush, magical landscape. The stunning visual and body language translate immediately into palpable tension.
Those who are familiar with the novel can easily surmise that this is where microbiologist Walter Fane (Edward Norton) and unfaithful wife Kitty (Naomi Watts) are en route to a cholera-infested, backward interior area of China. Alternating flashback crisply unveils the events in the last two years that has lead to this sad state of affairs - how they met, got married, moved to Shanghai (was Hong Kong in Maugham's novel) and took on this almost suicidal expedition as his way of "punishing" her infidelity.
Set against the backdrop of political instability in China in 1925, this is a very personal story. The backdrop is what it is a backdrop. Although China's political turmoil and anti-British sentiments are briefly touched upon, the movie never lets you lose sight of the fact that this is an intimate story of Walter and Kitty Fane, as is with, say, Yuri Zhivago and Lara Antipova. Actually, the "big picture" plays a much smaller part than in "Doctor Zhivago".
This movie is flavoured with far more romance than originally intended by Maugham, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. What we have here is a romance that has the worst possible start, a marriage of convenience (at least on her part, as woman's helpless economic status in 1925 did not seem much changed from the "Pride and prejudice" days) and an unfaithful wife. There is beautiful character development when each of the two, through a cheerless journal and a perilous destination, mature and find each other, learning mutual tolerance and appreciation. The story is beautifully told and superbly acted, with both Norton and Watt (particularly) deserving at least an Oscar nomination.
This movie is slow but absorbing, and will be particularly rewarding to those who appreciate attention to details and simple dialogue that have immense effects on the protagonists. It is when Kitty heard indirectly her lover's wife's offhand comment that the husband's mistresses are "CONSISTENTLY second-rate" that she finally tosses away all illusions about the affair. Another example is the seemingly inconsequential opium-smoking scene when Walter and Kitty chat aimlessly with their only other countryman in the area, deputy commissioner Waddington (Toby Jones). This scene provides the necessary bonding between Kitty and Waddington to support the scene at the end when Kitty seeks paternal solace from Waddington after losing her husband.
In the supporting cast, Liev Schreiber is somewhat wasted as Kitty's lover. Jones, who "dares" to play Truman Capote ("Infamous") right after Philip Seymour Hoffman's Oscar win, cuts quite a figure with Waddington. Most delightful is watching Diana Rigg playing the enlightened and enlightening Mother Superior. At 68, "Mrs Peel", despite a few inconsequential wrinkles, still has that look in the "Avenger" days. Another delight is Anthony Wong Chau-sang, Hong Kong's closest to Jack Nicholson, playing a not-too-small roll as Colonel Yu.
I am so impressed with this second rendering of one of Somerset Maugham's shorter novels to the big screen that I'm tempted to call it a "masterpiece", even when it has received only one Golden Globe nomination (original score).
The movie opens with an absolutely silent frame that has a thunderous impact standing absolutely still, figures hero and heroine clad in white against the lush, magical landscape. The stunning visual and body language translate immediately into palpable tension.
Those who are familiar with the novel can easily surmise that this is where microbiologist Walter Fane (Edward Norton) and unfaithful wife Kitty (Naomi Watts) are en route to a cholera-infested, backward interior area of China. Alternating flashback crisply unveils the events in the last two years that has lead to this sad state of affairs - how they met, got married, moved to Shanghai (was Hong Kong in Maugham's novel) and took on this almost suicidal expedition as his way of "punishing" her infidelity.
Set against the backdrop of political instability in China in 1925, this is a very personal story. The backdrop is what it is a backdrop. Although China's political turmoil and anti-British sentiments are briefly touched upon, the movie never lets you lose sight of the fact that this is an intimate story of Walter and Kitty Fane, as is with, say, Yuri Zhivago and Lara Antipova. Actually, the "big picture" plays a much smaller part than in "Doctor Zhivago".
This movie is flavoured with far more romance than originally intended by Maugham, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. What we have here is a romance that has the worst possible start, a marriage of convenience (at least on her part, as woman's helpless economic status in 1925 did not seem much changed from the "Pride and prejudice" days) and an unfaithful wife. There is beautiful character development when each of the two, through a cheerless journal and a perilous destination, mature and find each other, learning mutual tolerance and appreciation. The story is beautifully told and superbly acted, with both Norton and Watt (particularly) deserving at least an Oscar nomination.
This movie is slow but absorbing, and will be particularly rewarding to those who appreciate attention to details and simple dialogue that have immense effects on the protagonists. It is when Kitty heard indirectly her lover's wife's offhand comment that the husband's mistresses are "CONSISTENTLY second-rate" that she finally tosses away all illusions about the affair. Another example is the seemingly inconsequential opium-smoking scene when Walter and Kitty chat aimlessly with their only other countryman in the area, deputy commissioner Waddington (Toby Jones). This scene provides the necessary bonding between Kitty and Waddington to support the scene at the end when Kitty seeks paternal solace from Waddington after losing her husband.
In the supporting cast, Liev Schreiber is somewhat wasted as Kitty's lover. Jones, who "dares" to play Truman Capote ("Infamous") right after Philip Seymour Hoffman's Oscar win, cuts quite a figure with Waddington. Most delightful is watching Diana Rigg playing the enlightened and enlightening Mother Superior. At 68, "Mrs Peel", despite a few inconsequential wrinkles, still has that look in the "Avenger" days. Another delight is Anthony Wong Chau-sang, Hong Kong's closest to Jack Nicholson, playing a not-too-small roll as Colonel Yu.