Soon after the turn of the 20th Century, Prince Amerigo, Jeremy Northam, who hails from a noble but impoverished Italian family, marries Maggie, Kate Beckinsale, daughter of Adam Verver, Nick Nolte, America`s first billionaire. Before he met Maggie, Amerigo had had an affair with her best friend, Charlotte, Uma Thurman; and when Charlotte marries the widowed Adam, the stage is set for the relationship to continue.
This is the third time the Merchant-Ivory team have tackled a novel by Henry James - previously, they made The Europeans in 1979 and The Bostonians in 1984. Director James Ivory obviously feels a close affinity with James` displaced Americans, being a displaced American himself, but Ivory`s films, always intelligently conceived and handsomely produced, are, on occasion, emotionally hollow, and this is one of those occasions.
The Golden Bowl looks fabulous, the interiors, costumes, artefacts, they`re all sumptuous. And there are some strong performances. Kate Beckinsale as the wronged wife, Uma Thurman as the determined mistress, Nick Nolte as the Hearst-like billionaire. Unfortunately, Jeremy Northam is mis-cast as the Italian with the roving eye, and makes the crucial character of America a superficial one. There`s a lot to enjoy in The Golden Bowl, but watching it makes you appreciate just how good Jane Campion`s Henry James adaptation, The Portrait Of A Lady, really was.
The Golden Bowl looks fabulous, the interiors, costumes, artefacts, they`re all sumptuous. And there are some strong performances. Kate Beckinsale as the wronged wife, Uma Thurman as the determined mistress, Nick Nolte as the Hearst-like billionaire. Unfortunately, Jeremy Northam is mis-cast as the Italian with the roving eye, and makes the crucial character of America a superficial one. There`s a lot to enjoy in The Golden Bowl, but watching it makes you appreciate just how good Jane Campion`s Henry James adaptation, The Portrait Of A Lady, really was.
Share
