Review of The Portrait of a Lady (1996) by Maria M — 05 Jun 2009

Perhaps because of the name of Jane Campion, I expected [The Portrait of a Lady] would be another feminine text. It still was a feminine text but appears reversely. The film itself was not concise enough; the opening scene, the B&W scenes in the middle, as well as certain editing looked rather awkward.

Good photography although somehow pointless. Isabel Archer, the core character, was neither remarkable nor adorable enough and seems to be rather invulnerable, pretentious, pride, stupid & insensitive.

I couldn't be more careless about what will come upon her. Nicole Kidman's immaturity then of course further weakens the character's dimension. John Malkovich (as always, though very Valmont @ [Dangerous Liaisons]) & Barbara Hershey easily stood out; Martin Donovan was not bad either; supporting with small potato then Viggo Mortensen & Christian Bale.