Review of The White Countess (2005) by Mikael K — 15 Jul 2012

Kazuo Ishiguro is one of the greatest authors I know. He has the ability to take small, seemingly insignificant ideas and make delicate but deeply moving works out of them. He writes plot well and creates deep, alive characters he presents through narratives embedded with wisdom and immense humanity. He has proven himself not only a talented novelist but a sharp scriptwriter. Ishiguro is the kind of author I had always considered reliable, so talented he is in making narrative and dialog work. Then I saw âThe White Countessâ?.

Written by Ishiguro and directed by James Ivory- a director of considerable merit- the movie is a tale set in Shanghai in the 30â(TM)s. Itâ(TM)s basically a twisted love story between Todd (Ralph Fiennes), an American diplomat and Sofia (Natasha Richardson), a young Russian woman of noble descent. Sofia is a refugee who managed to escape the eventual death her former nobility would have brought in Communist Russia.

The set-up is interesting, the themes fascinating, the creative team impressive, the cast okay except for Fiennes, but the storytelling is dreadfully tedious, stiff and constantly off pace. At times the effort behind the film seems half-hearted and at other times there is a sense of trying too hard. I canâ(TM)t decide which one is the real problem behind âThe White Countess,â? a mix of wonderful components assembled together by a talented creative team with near-lackluster results.