The Golden Bowl
|
List Price: Our Price: $3.88 You Save: $11.10 (74%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Canada
Movie Reviews of The Golden Bowl
Movie Review: Golden Bowl
Summary: 4 Stars
I enjoyed this movie of pasion and love. It is a good thriller. Good actors and director.Movie Review: Disappointing
Summary: 3 Stars
In general I enjoy Merchant Ivory productions, but this one is below par. Visually stunning, wonderful costumes, but lacking in depth and human drama. I actually turned it off after the first 20 minutes because it so seriously lacked dramatic tension (this was during Nick Nolte's proposal to Uma Thurman. I was bored.). I ended up watching the rest because, after all, I paid for it, and it did improve, but not significantly. Interestingly, I ended up feeling the most sympathy for the lovers, the least for the wrong wife and husband/ father. There wasn't enough there to make me care deeply about any of them, however.
Jeremy Northam is usually worth watching (I wish Colin Firth weren't such a darling of Hollywood. I'd have loved to see Northam in Girl with a Pearl Earring, for example.) Here he is hidden behind a beard and an Italian accent. Kate Beckinsale is another reason I was interested, but I just wasn't compelled by her ingenue character.
Movie Review: Where's Emma Thompson When You Need Her?
Summary: 2 Stars
There must be an old saying about how people with too much money and time on their hands will find a way to misery, unhappiness and trouble before they can seek or find redemption in true love, truth and honesty. But the flawed relationships and imperfections of human nature make "The Golden Bowl," directed by James Ivory, a perfect metaphor for the lives of the four principals involved in this story, which takes place at the beginning of the 20th Century. Prince Amerigo (Jeremy Northam) is broke, and to restore his villa in Italy, as well as the stature of his name and lifestyle, he gives up his true love, Charlotte (Uma Thurman), to marry Maggie (Kate Beckinsale), the daughter of the first American Billionaire, Adam Verver (Nick Nolte). Charlotte then proceeds to marry Adam, and due to some eccentricities on the part of Adam and Maggie, the four become as one big, confused and dysfunctional family, playing out their drama in England and Italy, while Adam pursues his obsessive dream of building a museum in "American Town," which he feels will "give back" something to those who have worked their lives away in the coal mines wherein his fortune was made. It's a world in which the priorities of those involved, however, become twisted, and truth, fidelity and all the things that really matter, become lost or disavowed; a world in which those who seemingly have a choice opt for dreary and overcast, rather than for blue skies and sunshine. Though the cinematography is superb and the settings lavish, the production team of Merchant/Ivory, who created and delivered such outstanding films as "Howard's End" and "Remains of the Day," come up a bit short with this offering, which fairly plods along and simply takes too long to achieve very little in the way of insight or even just a satisfying cinematic experience. And one of the main problems, perhaps, is the fact that the characters are people with whom you can neither identify nor relate, and as such, it is difficult to sympathize with their respective situations or to embrace their individual fixations. These are people you simply have trouble caring about, and without that connection it puts you at arm's length, so to speak, and watching their story unfold becomes a tedious business at best.
A valid argument could be made, as well, for the casting-- or should I say, "miscasting"-- of the film, beginning with Nolte, who not only seems out of place (even playing an American), but gives a performance that seems forced and too overtly "theatrical;" this kind of acting belongs on the stage, and even there would stretch credibility. It definitely does not translate well to film, and is simply not believable. As he has proved in many films before, most notably in 1998's "Affliction,"-- in which his performance was instrumental in enabling James Coburn to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor-- Nolte can act; but this just isn't the kind of role in which he excels. Still, he must be given credit for the attempt.
The usually charming and charismatic Beckinsale also falters in this one. Like Nolte, her performance seems forced and lacks the naturalness that would've made it at all believable. Perhaps in attempting to internalize her feelings, as one could argue would be appropriate for a young woman of the times depicted here, she may have used a bit too much restraint, which adversely affected the perception of her character and the emotions she was attempting to convey. And when she does finally externalize her feelings, it just doesn't seem honest.
Northam also fails to make his character, Amerigo, believable. A good actor, one has to wonder at the reasons behind casting him as the Italian Prince. His accent is decent, but far from impeccable, and the lapses have a tendency to take the viewer out of the story, which breaks the continuity and dispels the drama of the film. And while not disastrous, it is unfortunate, and the film suffers for it.
Uma Thurman probably comes closer than any of her co-stars at capturing the essence of her character, but even her performance comes across as rather tepid; physically and emotionally, she embodies Charlotte, but even her most flamboyant moments are lackluster. And she and Northam lack the on-screen chemistry that would've created the tension needed to make the relationship between Charlotte and Amerigo a viable, believable commodity.
The saving grace of the film, performance-wise, are those of Anjelica Huston and James Fox, in supporting roles as Fannie and Colonel Bob Assingham who, though in a limited capacity, give moments of the most credibility to the overall film.
The supporting cast includes Madeleine Potter (Lady Castledean), Nicholas Day (Lord Castledean), Peter Eyre (Jarvis, the Shopkeeper), Nickolas Grace (Lecturer) and Robin Hart (Mr. Blint). Visually resplendent, but overlong and far from engaging, "The Golden Bowl" fails to live up to the expectations of a Merchant/Ivory production. To say that the story goes nowhere would be erroneous; it's simply a long, tiresome journey with an anticlimax that is less than satisfying. A highly touted film, in the final analysis it can be chalked up as possibly the first misfire in the Merchant/Ivory canon. We can only hope that Emma Thompson will be available for their next project.
Movie Review: Ultimately unconvincing...
Summary: 2 Stars
*The Golden Bowl* is, it would seem, a movie of potential. Indeed, the story, with its rather soap opera-esque plot points, would be quite entertaining--if, that is, it weren't for a few missteps. It hardly seems fair to say that it is because of the acting that the characters seem either lackluster or absurd. Thurman, however, seems to have some misapprehensions in regards to Charlotte's motivations. She sets a petulant tone, falls back on silliness, takes a turn as a confident seductress, and ends up something of a lovelorn martyr. If done right, it seems as though these traits could align themselves within one person's personality effectively, but that is not so here. As a viewer I care little for her personal pain and even less for her momentary triumphs. Northam is justifiable in his role; he is a truly beautiful man and completely believable in his passion, which he is hardly allowed to bring to the surface, though if he had it would have added some much needed feeling to the film. Many viewers have written his performance off due to his attempt at an Italian accent (and, I must say, it is odd that they have a man with a genuine British accent playing an Italian,) but I found it easy enough to ignore his speech in favor of his superior facial expressions. As for Nolte and Beckinsale, well, I must say that for a good deal of the film it seemed as though they were carrying out some kind of incestuous relationship. This may or may not be due to the way the actors conceived their characters to be, but it was unwelcome in my mind. They are so absorbed with each other that it is easy to forgive Charlotte and Amerigo their brief affair. In short, I believed in them as people not at all and therefore found it impossible to sympathize or moralize. I almost always play devil's advocate, but in this case it would have even been nice to call upon morals in order to feel anything at all.
I have often heard that Merchant Ivory films are lavish, highly appealing to the senses, but if that is their trademark it is missing in *The Golden Bowl*. Northam is the most compelling thing to look upon, but then, you need not watch this movie in order to appreciate his good fortune. In fact, it would be advisable to watch *Emma* instead or, heck, *The Net.*
Fans of period films should be able to appreciate the costumes and...and...Well, perhaps that's all. If, by some chance, you were to miss an opportunity to watch *The Golden Bowl* it would not be the worst fate to befall you. It is long and unconvincing and lacks the ability to stir any kind of response in the viewer.
Movie Review: Unsatisfying, horrible casting and acting, don't just give MI a pass
Summary: 2 Stars
I have to agree with the negative reviewers here, I have not read the book but books are always better than movies period. I hate these english actors that are cast as Americans, Beckinsale and Bale are the two prime examples but there are many more.
The acting was universally bad here as well, Nolte seems very wooden in particular but Beckinsale is not far behind, the only decent acting was by Uma Thurman.
This felt like an incomplete study throughout, by far the worst MI movie I've seen. MI should stick with the English Victorian/Edwardian periods that is it's forte and leave everything else to those who would know better. I'm glad this was a rental for me, not worth more than that.