BlazeLime Strong and Moving!

Greenes Please don't spend money on this.

Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Movie Critic If this movie is what Henry James is all about, I have not missed a lot not reading him. A golden bowl (nick knack in a shop--which later by accident reveals adulterous affair) has a flaw in it that is hidden...the marriage of the billionaire's daughter (Kate Beckinsale) and the Italian prince (Amerigo/Jeremy Northam) also has a hidden flaw. There are lots of other symbols knives for instance followed by a skit of actors stabbing each other and also several replays of the 15th century murders of Amerigo's ancestor's faithless wife and her step son offering some historical foreboding of events.James was said to judge a novel based on how interesting it is...here this movie falls flat. It is a prettily filmed soap opera from 1903.I agree with another reviewer it is hard to feel sorry for these privileged cosseted people who run around all day worrying about who knew who before they were married at their stuffy lawn parties and collecting art. Nor do I view them or their lives as significant.Henry James is also kind of a preview to modern day PC stuff--couples married 40 years having a sex life(the older woman friend)...women's concerns everywhere and obvious symbolism to make you believe you have just watched something of intellectual significance.The filming is pretty. Nick Nolte is miscast and unattractive in this role as intellectual gentleman--he looks sour and mean. Jeremy Northam was unconvincing as an Italian and miscast as a man inspiring passionate interest from women.So, it is boring. What is so exciting about adultery no matter how the couples are arranged? A modern version of this would have featured incest and they would have returned on the Titanic so maybe I shouldn't complain. Using James own rating system it fails. Partly this material doesn't age well--a hundred years later the key elements of the plot are boring rather than mind bending and shocking as they were then.DO NOT RECOMMEND

fkkemble Good caste, appalling script and transparent plot. My wife and I love period drama's but this wasn't one. I turned it off after an hour. I have to say that Henry James is generally pretty dismal as a writer in my opinion and so the movie was seriously hamstrung from the start. I really like Jeremy Northam but his Italian accent made me want to punch him. I think that Uma Thurman is a good actress but I don't see her in this genre sadly. The British are the absolute kings of period drama in my opinion and so the US producers should really concentrate on the big screen thriller or sci-fi movies which they are so good at. If the British had produced and directed this movie there may have been improvement but they would never have picked it in the first place.

Gordon-11 This film is about the complicated love life between four people bound by blood, marriage and lust.The plot is rather simple and plainly told, but it is made up for by the lush costumes and visuals. It is delightful to see so many extravagant period dresses in each scene, I felt I was watching a fashion show! Uma Thurman's dresses are the most remarkable, her peacock costume and the white curly hat stand out from the crowd. Her heart wrenching performance proves she has great acting skills to parallel her extraordinary beauty.Scenes in "The Golden Bowl" are thoughtfully constructed and thoughtfully decorated. The palace rooms are maximally decorated with flowers, paintings and sculptures; providing a visual feast of luxury and grandeur."The Golden Bowl" is well worth watching just for the grand sets and lavish costumes.

BofferBings "The Golden Bowl" can discourage even the most ardent fans of period dramas. Being a fan of Henry James's writings, I found this movie incredibly boring. The wooden performances by Uma Thurman and Jeremy Northam certainly did not help. For a truly emotional and honest piece of filmmaking, watch "The House of Mirth," for fascinating, if controversial, camera work, watch "The Portrait of a Lady," for lavish settings and costumes that actually mean something, watch "The Age of Innocence."