The Portrait of a Lady

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Richard D Somehow I place this film with The Red Shoes - own of my other life-time faves. The main theme of each film are similar: about how gifted, brilliant innocents are manipulated, preyed upon and even "posessed" for the perpetrator's selfish ends. (A "specialty" of Henry James who wrote the novel on which Portrait of a Lady is based -- "see also" Golden Bowl, Turn of the Screw). I read the novel in undergraduate English Lit and had no idea what it was about - even though I got "top marks" for my assignment. Slowly slowly the insights have dawned on me over the years . The story has been with me every since, and like The Red Shoes I can watch the film again today and immerse myself in the drama and the dismay at the wickedness Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/16/25 Full Review Maria L I've probably seen this film 50 times since it first came out. I think it's exquisite Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/26/24 Full Review Audience Member This film has amazing cinematography and is well-acted but the direction does not reveal the frankly mystifying motivations of, and actions taken by, the central characters Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review steve d A pretentious and often boring script lets down it's actors. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Campion's version of the novel by Henry James left me with mixed feelings. The visuals are beautiful. At times the movie can be intense and make you emotionally invested in the characters to the point of being moved. Nicole Kidman's portrayal of Isabel is very convincing, as are Barbara Hershey's Madame Merle and Martin Donovan's Ralph. The main problem to me was in the nature of Campion's reinterpretation. Since I thought that the best part of the book was its brilliant analysis of the characters' psyche I didn't appreciate too much their strong sexualization, which took away from them their tridimensional depth and also weakened my sympathy. In the novel Isabel is an independent, strong-willed, clever young woman looking for adventure and intense experiences. She wants to live her life fully, to explore it in reality after she has observed it through other people and books. That's why she doesn't want to be married - above all things she values the freedom only recently gained thanks to her aunt's offer to introduce her in society. However, in the movie the traits that should be essential for Isabel's personality are only talked about briefly in the beginning, but are never shown. Then, they seem to be forgotten completely and Isabel becomes a sexually repressed woman who doesn't know what she wants and subsequently falls victim of Madame Merle and Osmond's plot. Also, characters such as Lord Warburton, Caspar Goodwood and Henrietta, who are important both for Isabel's life and to define her character, are merely extras, a fact that I found surprising considering how long and slow the movie is. I came to the conclusion that, had it be more faithful to the novel's nature, which is not erotic but psychological, human, with these visuals and this well chosen cast the movie would have been aesthetically beautiful and also relevant in the content. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member The tone of James' classic novel is lost in Campion's new age feminist blubber. Some of the performances are a saving grace with Barbara Hershey as a standout. Nicole Kidman doesn't seem to have Isabel within her grasp and Malkovich's moustache twirling villain is so over the top that he seems ready to tie the audience to a train track at any given moment. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Portrait of a Lady

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