A powerful story, made weaker by excessive length and too many characters. Some of the secondary characters could have been eliminated to make the plot flow more smoothly. Having said this, I was tremendously impressed by Maria Bonnevie in the title role. Her face is florid, sensual, expressive of lust, sorrow and all the other emotions in this often violent woman's life. Mads Mikkelson as the grafting, unscrupulous Niels gives the other fine performance; his suicide takes all the life out of the story.
Gérard Depardieu and Christopher Eccleston were added to the cast for star power, I suppose, but they don't mix well with the other players. Eccleston's character--Zhukovsky the anarchist--is just a jumble of historical clichés we can't become involved with.
Gérard Depardieu and Christopher Eccleston were added to the cast for star power, I suppose, but they don't mix well with the other players. Eccleston's character--Zhukovsky the anarchist--is just a jumble of historical clichés we can't become involved with.