I should note that I've never read any of Henry James's novels, just seen adaptations. "The Portrait of a Lady" seems like the sort of movie that would come from Merchant & Ivory, not Jane Campion (director of "The Piano" and "The Power of the Dog"). But here it is. I guess that what you could take from any of these movies is that the old landed gentry were fixed in their ways and would do anything to stick to those ways. In this case, US expat Isabel (Nicole Kidman) gets corrupted in her relationships with some people.
Not the sort of movie that I particularly enjoy; how many of us in the 21st century can relate to these 19th-century aristocrats? Its strength is in the performances - among them Barbara Hershey in an Academy Award-nominated performance - direction, and production design. Worth seeing for that, I guess.
Along with Kidman and Hershey, the movie stars Christian Bale, Shelley Duvall, Shelley Winters and John Malkovich. In other words, it's a link between the Dark Knight trilogy, "The Shining", "Lolita", and of course, "Being John Malkovich".
Not the sort of movie that I particularly enjoy; how many of us in the 21st century can relate to these 19th-century aristocrats? Its strength is in the performances - among them Barbara Hershey in an Academy Award-nominated performance - direction, and production design. Worth seeing for that, I guess.
Along with Kidman and Hershey, the movie stars Christian Bale, Shelley Duvall, Shelley Winters and John Malkovich. In other words, it's a link between the Dark Knight trilogy, "The Shining", "Lolita", and of course, "Being John Malkovich".