The Portrait of a Lady (1996)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Jane Campion

Writers:

Henry James (novel)
Laura Jones (screenplay)

Release Date:

17 January 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Isabel Archer, an American heiress and free thinker travels to Europe to find herself. She tactfully rebuffs the advances of Caspar Goodwood...

Plot Keywords:

Art | Sexuality | Victorian Era | Consumption | Nun

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Nicole Kidman	...	Isabel Archer
John Malkovich	...	Gilbert Osmond
Barbara Hershey	...	Madame Serena Merle
Mary-Louise Parker	...	Henrietta Stackpole
Martin Donovan	...	Ralph Touchett
Shelley Winters	...	Mrs. Touchett
Richard E. Grant	...	Lord Warburton
Shelley Duvall	...	Countess Gemini
Christian Bale	...	Edward Rosier
Viggo Mortensen	...	Caspar Goodwood
Valentina Cervi	...	Pansy Osmond
John Gielgud	...	Mr. Touchett
Roger Ashton-Griffiths	...	Bob Bantling
Catherine Zago	...	Mother Superior
Alessandra Vanzi	...	Nun #2

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature sensuality and some brief nudity.

Runtime:

144 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Iceland:L | South Korea:18 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #34839) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Belgium:KT | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | Germany:12 (bw) | Italy:T | Mexico:B | Netherlands:12 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:7 | Sweden:Btl | UK:12

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Company:

Polygram Filmed Entertainment

Trivia:

Shelley Duvall learned Italian to portray Countess Gemini.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the ball scene, a full orchestra can be heard while only a chamber orchestra (less than ten people) appears on the screen.

Quotes:

Gilbert Osmond: You don't lose your temper, you find it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Killing Floor (2007)

Soundtrack:

Concerto No. 5 in F Minor for Harpsichord and Strings, BWV 1056

A woman is torn between independence and love in this feminist adaptation of Henry James' novel.

Many people could not warm up to this remarkable adaptation of Henry James' novel, A Portrait of a Lady. The dark, abusive themes and open ending are not part of typical costume drama fare, but both are true to Henry James' novel and to Jane Campion's vision.

Henry James originally wrote the novel in the 1880s. Intended as an exploration of what a woman might do if she were given independent means, James' book indicts women as being trapped by a weaker nature. Exploring the same material Campion's movie comes to a different conclusion.

The adaptation and direction are superb. The movie maintains the steady rhythm of doom that makes James' novel an enduring classic. There is no place where this is more evident in the film than in its lingering images. The camera holds on to the subject a moment longer than expected, making the viewer a little uncomfortable, and anticipating sudden disaster that never quite arrives. Ms. Campion directs this film like a horror film, which is exactly what it is.

The acting in this film is also convincing, from Nicole Kidman's paralyzed Isabel, to John Malkovich as a hypnotically terrifying pursuer. They are backed by a solid cast of major actors in minor roles, all adding to Isabel's complex societal tragedy.

Portrait of a Lady, particularly this film adaptation, is a remarkable example of how stories may stay the same, but their meanings change over time.

Related films include: Washington Square (1997), The House of Mirth (2000), The Buccaneers (1995)(mini).