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The Wings of the Dove

Play trailer Poster for The Wings of the Dove R 1997 1h 41m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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85% Tomatometer 34 Reviews 78% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Kate (Helena Bonham Carter) is secretly betrothed to a struggling journalist, Merton Densher (Linus Roache). But she knows her Aunt Maude (Charlotte Rampling) will never approve of the match, since Kate's deceased mother has lost all her money in a marriage to a degenerate opium addict (Michael Gambon). When Kate meets a terminally ill American heiress named Millie (Alison Elliott) traveling through Europe, she comes up with a conniving plan to have both love and wealth.
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The Wings of the Dove

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Critics Consensus

The Wings of the Dove patiently explores class divisions in early 20th century Europe through the well-written and beautifully acted travails of star-crossed lovers.

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Critics Reviews

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Mike Clark USA Today 01/10/2018
3.5/4
Instead of piling on distracting historical details and background, Dove trusts the audience to notice behavioral clues and fill in the blanks. Go to Full Review
Carol Buckland CNN.com 01/05/2018
The Wings of the Dove flies high in a year when a whole lot of mega-buck movies barely got off the ground. It's exquisite -- and very adult -- entertainment. Go to Full Review
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times 01/01/2000
3.5/4
In The Wings of the Dove, there is a fascination in the way smart people try to figure one another out. The film is acted with great tenderness. If the three central characters had been more forthright, more hedonistic, we wouldn't care nearly as much. Go to Full Review
Betsy Sherman The Improper Bostonian 08/06/2024
2.5/4
This adaptation of one of Henry James’s most psychologically rich novels works on its own lighter terms -- although those terms arguably rip away the very forces that motivate the James characters. Go to Full Review
Dan DiNicola The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, NY) 01/10/2023
A-
Sensuous, intelligent and moving, this is one of the best of the year. Go to Full Review
Wesley Lovell Cinema Sight 01/07/2023
3.5/4
The film, however, keeps your interest and Bonham Carter makes you feel her lust and pain so easily that hers is one of the finest performances of the year. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Ben D Jan 30 This is a much better story — and assumedly, novel — than the film we are given. Kate (Helena Bonham Carter) loves Merton (Linus Roache), who is a journalist without much money. Raised by her aunt (Charlotte Rampling), she is set to marry a man of means, Lord Mark (Alex Jennings). Milly (Alison Elliot) is a young, rich American who is also terminally ill. If Kate and make Milly fall in love with Merton — who will feign loving her in return — it may so happen that Milly will bequeath Merton with her fortune upon her death and Kate can therefore marry Merton, made newly of means, thereby having her cake and eating it too. Set to a backdrop (mostly) of Venice, this is quite the devious and romantic early 20th-century story. And yet, I cared for little of the characters. Their “love” felt superficially and without sacrifice. Milly is endearing and lovely and the way her destiny is used to the ends of the other characters makes you not want to root for any of them. There is, perhaps, a predictable twist that may be one of the larger misfires I’ve witnessed in cinema. I had assumed HBC had received her Oscar nom for Best Supporting Actress and even then, I would have been surprised given that she goes missing for large stretches of the 102-minute runtime, but she was actually given a Best Actress nom, which is just farcical. This feels like a script that could be remade with more power and gravitas. See more Barry M 01/02/2021 A deep exploration of the heart and how it will have its way no matter what. See more steve d 07/07/2020 I hated the characters and thus the film. See more 11/10/2017 ???????????????? ??? ?????????????? ?????????? ?????? ???????????????? See more 12/20/2016 A devastating look at fine line that separates money and love and how it could push someone to the very edge of decimation. See more 09/03/2015 The Wings of the Dove is a perfect example of a film that would've been better served with a less conventional approach that focused on delineating the emotional turmoil these characters put themselves through instead of lavishing in its period trappings. As it stands, it's mostly well-done, although it doesn't get truly compelling until the killer ending that prioritizes the character instead of the visual, pushing its performers to vulnerable territory that yields much more rewarding results. See more Read all reviews
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The Wings of the Dove

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Movie Info

Synopsis Kate (Helena Bonham Carter) is secretly betrothed to a struggling journalist, Merton Densher (Linus Roache). But she knows her Aunt Maude (Charlotte Rampling) will never approve of the match, since Kate's deceased mother has lost all her money in a marriage to a degenerate opium addict (Michael Gambon). When Kate meets a terminally ill American heiress named Millie (Alison Elliott) traveling through Europe, she comes up with a conniving plan to have both love and wealth.
Director
Iain Softley
Producer
David Parfitt, Stephen Evans
Screenwriter
Henry James, Hossein Amini
Distributor
Miramax Films
Production Co
Miramax Films
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 7, 1997, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 11, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$13.7M
Runtime
1h 41m
Sound Mix
Dolby Digital, Surround
Aspect Ratio
35mm, Scope (2.35:1)
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