2008 Woodie Awards
The Painted Veil
By: Maria Adams
Issue date: 1/25/07 Section: Lifestyle
- Page 1 of 1
Exotic locations, sexual temptations and debilitating diseases all come together in "The Painted Veil," an epic-style romance set in China's cholera epidemic of the 1920s.
Kitty (Naomi Watts) is a restless English socialite thrown into a marriage for the wrong reasons. While traveling abroad with her husband Walter (Edward Norton), Kitty begins a love affair with another man. Aware of the situation, Walter punishes her by forcing her to relocate to a more remote and far more dangerous part of China - far removed from her upper-class life - where a cholera epidemic has reached its peak. While there, Walter risks his own life as well as Kitty's to bring medical aid to the impoverished members of the society. Thrown into this desperate situation, the two manage to grow, both individually as well as together.
"The Painted Veil" is a lush love story with beautiful locations - disease and poverty aside. Still, the film does little to stray from the typical romance genre. Two people are thrown together in hard times. A woman is propelled into marriage despite her own indifference toward her new spouse. The two must then come to either depend on one another or fall apart. Their unaffectionate beginning blossoms into more when their spirits are pushed to the limits. The storyline is one you could easily find in the pages of many a romance novel.
However, this is not to imply the film is lacking anything beyond originality. The performances are good, the scenery is glorious and the music is haunting. Norton ("Fight Club," "Red Dragon"), never short on talent, is convincing as the mild-mannered doctor pushed to the brink by his unreturned love and the illness that surrounds him. He is at moments both pitiable and frustrating in his reaction toward the infidelity.
Likewise, Watts ("King Kong," "Mulholland Dr.") is impressive as a wife thrown into a life she did not choose for herself. She carries the undeniable tension of an impulsive person bound to another's set of rules. She is a torn woman, trapped outside of her societal upbringing and her own desires.
Still, these talented actors are overshadowed by the more visual aspects. The surroundings are at times both gorgeous and terrifying. There is a collision of the beauties and bestialities of nature, the thriving landscape hovering over the decaying civilization.
This beauty is only amplified by the musical score that has deservedly earned a Golden Globe. The simplistic piano melodies are enchanting and make the film worth seeing on their own merit alone.
"The Painted Veil" is far from a new story, but its aesthetics make it into something truly enjoyable.
3 ½ out of 5
Kitty (Naomi Watts) is a restless English socialite thrown into a marriage for the wrong reasons. While traveling abroad with her husband Walter (Edward Norton), Kitty begins a love affair with another man. Aware of the situation, Walter punishes her by forcing her to relocate to a more remote and far more dangerous part of China - far removed from her upper-class life - where a cholera epidemic has reached its peak. While there, Walter risks his own life as well as Kitty's to bring medical aid to the impoverished members of the society. Thrown into this desperate situation, the two manage to grow, both individually as well as together.
"The Painted Veil" is a lush love story with beautiful locations - disease and poverty aside. Still, the film does little to stray from the typical romance genre. Two people are thrown together in hard times. A woman is propelled into marriage despite her own indifference toward her new spouse. The two must then come to either depend on one another or fall apart. Their unaffectionate beginning blossoms into more when their spirits are pushed to the limits. The storyline is one you could easily find in the pages of many a romance novel.
However, this is not to imply the film is lacking anything beyond originality. The performances are good, the scenery is glorious and the music is haunting. Norton ("Fight Club," "Red Dragon"), never short on talent, is convincing as the mild-mannered doctor pushed to the brink by his unreturned love and the illness that surrounds him. He is at moments both pitiable and frustrating in his reaction toward the infidelity.
Likewise, Watts ("King Kong," "Mulholland Dr.") is impressive as a wife thrown into a life she did not choose for herself. She carries the undeniable tension of an impulsive person bound to another's set of rules. She is a torn woman, trapped outside of her societal upbringing and her own desires.
Still, these talented actors are overshadowed by the more visual aspects. The surroundings are at times both gorgeous and terrifying. There is a collision of the beauties and bestialities of nature, the thriving landscape hovering over the decaying civilization.
This beauty is only amplified by the musical score that has deservedly earned a Golden Globe. The simplistic piano melodies are enchanting and make the film worth seeing on their own merit alone.
"The Painted Veil" is far from a new story, but its aesthetics make it into something truly enjoyable.
3 ½ out of 5
Be the first to comment on this story