Mjeteconer Just perfect...

TeenzTen An action-packed slog

Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Ketrivie It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

webber-george This is a very interesting film, there is for sure a hint of sexual repression in it, but I think that's true of all of the Director (Campion's) films. Given the script, Nicole Kidman has a standout performance, I just think that the director didn't get the absolute best out of her, with her character somewhat lacking in belief. Her character just doesn't seem as believable as she could. Perhaps this is because the Director didn't allow enough time for Kidman's character to evolve from an innocent to a cold corrupted woman.Its for this lack of character development I felt I couldn't give the film more than a 6. There is just something lacking - almost chopped out of the film. a simple 3 years later isn't good enough explanation for such a dramatic change in character. In addition I feel there is no formal ending to the story. The production and cinematography give this film a higher rating that it might of otherwise got.Not bad but could have been better.

tieman64 "We'd have a good time, if only we'd stop trying to be happy." - Edith Wharton Jane Campion directs "The Portrait of a Lady", a film based on a Henry James novel of the same name. The plot? Nicole Kidman plays Isabel Archer, a young expatriate living in nineteenth century London. Though expected to be "sensible" and "marry a wealthy man", Isabel opts instead to be "free"; she travels around the world, turning down various marriage proposals along the way.Eventually Isabel meets the devious Gilbert Osmond (John Malkovich), whom she "freely" chooses to marry. This backfires; Gilbert's simply using Isabel to get at her impressive financial assets. The film's final act finds Isabel attempting to fight for the independence of Gilbert's daughter. If Isabel cannot be "free", then she will ensure that others can be.Anyone familiar with the proto-feminist novels of Edith Wharton, Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf etc will find very few surprises in "The Portrait of a Lady". This is ultimately a by-the-numbers account of 19th century upper-middle-class social circles, a sexist and classist milieu which cinema often delves into. The film's themes of "female independence" are given a subversive twist – Isabel would have been happier had she not enslaved herself to vague notions of "freedom", and had she succumbed instead to the very notions of romantic love which she cynically deems old-fashioned – but pale in comparison's to Campion's best films. Consider Campion's "Bright Star", also set in the 19th century, and "Holy Smoke", also about an adventurous expatriate, both of which handle this material in fresh and exciting ways.Unlike the vast majority of Campion's pictures, "Portrait's" screenplay wasn't written by its director. Because of this, "Portrait" lacks that distinct personal stamp which makes Campion's other films so special. "Portrait's" aesthetic is also routine, though Campion's able to conjure up a number of wonderful moments. The film's New Age prologue, in which Campion's camera captures the awakenings of 20th century women whose sexual revolution the film's 19th century characters will later be denied, is particularly wonderful. Several dream sequences and black-and-white interludes also hint at what Campion is capable of at her best. Nicole Kidman is excellent as the conflicted Isabel Archer.7.5/10 – See "The Remains of the Day", "The Story of Qiu Ju", "Red Sorghum" and "Raise the Red Lantern".

moonspinner55 23-year-old American in 1872 England, orphaned and now residing with wealthy relatives, is preyed upon by a fortune hunter who--despite coming up against a determinedly independent lass with a cynical overview of marriage--breaks down the girl's defenses and takes her as his wife; years later, their marriage on the rocks, the woman upsets her husband's plans by interfering in the love-life of her stepdaughter who is being unsuccessfully wooed by a Lord. Director Jane Campion opens this adaptation of Henry James' novel with a collage of modern women's faces, free and forthright and fulfilled, but then hands us a heroine who is duped, abused, and reduced easily to tears. This is not Nicole Kidman's fault, her performance as Isabel Archer is as good as can be expected. Campion fails to reveal any dimensions of this girl, and Isabel's circling conversations with men have a one-note, droning quality which matches Campion's chilly visual style: colorless. Campion's artistic attributes certainly give select sequences a stunning, eerie romantic flavor, but she doesn't do much with the actors (some of whom, Mary Louise Parker and Shelley Duvall in particular, seem woefully out of place). Kidman is under-lit and posed like a porcelain doll (at one point, her grayish pallor perfectly matches that of a pillar just behind her); yet, while these shots are thoughtfully composed, they call attention to themselves in a negative way for an audience very likely to get fed up with such pretensions (especially in a film which is already methodically paced). Ironically, "The Portrait of a Lady" comes mostly to life when dealing with John Malkovich's cunning hubby; the actor has played roles similar to this in the past, but his relish in bringing out the dark side of this tale can clearly be felt. The picture is literate, but almost in an exasperating way; the tastefulness of it as 'art', and the tactfulness of Laura Jones' screenplay, nearly kills off our interest. ** from ****

carolyn-epps I remember going to see this movie with a boyfriend back in 1997. I wanted to see this movie because I thought it would be romantic. I practically had to drag my boyfriend to see it with me, he laughed and slept thru most of it, while I tried desperately to understand the plot of the story. Nothing in this movie captured my interest!! I was so disappointed when I left the theater, I was tempted to ask for a refund!!!! I have even thought about renting the movie, if just to see if my understanding of the plot will become clear, but afraid it will only leave me feeling angry and unfulfilled. I can't give this film a good, not even a mediocre rating.