The Golden Bowl (2000)

Wonderful character development!

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Blistering performances.

This film has much to recommend it, including great performances by both leading actresses. Unfortunately it is unlikely to be watched by anyone but fans of Henry James' novels, and they will find it unsatisfactory in most of the ways that count. The symbolism comes over as creakingly obvious, and some of the performances -- Nick Nolte's in particular -- are mannered in a way that does not work in a naturalistic medium. There is a scene in which he sheds a sentimental tear that I found unbearably fake. An even more toe-curling moment comes when James Fox makes a snorting whahay! noise as he cuddles up with Angelica Huston. She however provides the most Jamesian performance of them all, cool, intelligent, principled, and yet irretrievably corrupt. Kate Beckinsale is perfect in the part of Maggie, a John Singer Sergeant portrait come to life. Uma Thurman as Charlotte provides the required blend of sexuality and desperation. But the impact of these performances is all too often dissipated by heavy-handed direction and an over-insistence on significance at the expense of naturalism. The loaded set pieces like the swashbuckling scene of Italian erotic intrigue and the peculiar oriental mime are unnecessary and laboured to death. The comic song at the Matcham weekend is incredibly irritating and yet it is brought back in over and over again. Overall the film succeeds in capturing the sense of the destructive power of the Ververs with their enormous wealth and passion for collecting things -- people as well as objects. But it does so with an over-reliance on artifice. Unfortunately much the same is true of the novel, as it is of late James in general. This project was doomed from the start.

Having loved the splendid 'Howard's End' and the delightful 'A Room With A View', I always look forward to a Merchant Ivory film no matter what the outcome. 'The Golden Bowl' does not reach the level of the aforementioned two films but it still was a good watch. Ivory does successfully manage to create a feel of that time period. The sets and costumes look quite authentic. Through subtle references one can see how James Ivory has been influenced by classic movies. The story is about complex relationships, between a father and his daughter, between two former lovers and between husbands and wives. The characters are very well etched and layered and it is the mystery of these characters that has intrigued me the most. How long has Verver known about Amerigo and Charlotte's relationship? Since when has Maggie known? Did Charlotte have any feelings at all for Verver? The film does move at a slightly tedious pace but it picks up when Maggie starts suspecting the relationship between Charlotte and Amerigo. Northam's Amerigo takes some getting used to. I found him funny initially but once one is passed that he's quite good and terrific in the scenes where he's restrained. Uma Thurman sizzles. Charlotte may come across as a temptress at times but Thurman portrays her vulnerability and despair with gusto. Kate Beckinsale is equally fantastic. Hats off to Nick Nolte for a studied and subtle performance of a father who has to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to save his daughter's marriage. Angelica Huston makes herself noticeable. 'The Golden Bowl' may not be the best of Ivory Merchant but it's still an interesting period drama a fascinating study of characters.

Henry James has been given the Merchant Ivory treatment before, and he and the film makers go well together. His lush prose matches the lushness of Merchant Ivory production values, and their casting is always interesting. Uma Thurman does not spring to mind as a likely Jamesian character, but she acquits herself well as the bold and beautiful Charlotte Verver. Nick Nolte is not bad as her mega-rich husband Adam, who she marries for his money despite being in love with the handsome but penniless Prince Amerigo (Jeremy Northham). Kate Beckinsale plays Adam's callow young daughter Maggie who marries Amerigo, unaware of his relationship with her friend Uma. Screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala doesn't try to imitate the Jamesian style but keeps the dialogue reasonably simple, though Jeremy Northam's Italian accent reminded me of the Count from Sesame Street ('ave I a number for you!) Several English stately homes including the Elizabethan Burghley House put in special guest appearances, as does Angelica Huston as an unlikely English aristocrat.As a substantial and very wordy novel has been shoehorned into 120 minutes on screen, much has been omitted and the plot line simplified. There was a 6 part TV miniseries made in 1972 which was rather less lively than this production. Even the Golden Bowl itself (gilded crystal rather than gold) meets its end at the hands of a different character in the film. Yet despite the lush setting, it is James's plot which carries the picture – contrived, perhaps, but interesting nonetheless – helped along by fine performances from most of the principals. Kate and Uma are able to exploit the fact that James's female characters tend to be better realised than his men. I think I'd have to say that the film is easier to watch than the novel is to read.

"The Golden Bowl" felt more like recent Edith Wharton adaptations like "Age of Innocence" and "House of Mirth" than its Henry James provenance, because the focus is more on the social criticism of a society that forces the impecunious upper class into marriage with pecunious upstarts than the individual faults of people this hypocritical society produces.But maybe my mind wandered as this was a bit over-long as I seemed to have missed some crucial epiphany when characters changed their relationships where they find true love a manipulable characteristic -- with the audience responding with sharp intakes of breath.I was surprised how good Uma Thurman was in a costume drama as I had thought of her only as a modernist, while I thought Nick Nolte far too subdued to be a robber baron.The costumes and settings were gorgeous.The audience was typical Merchant/Ivory fans -- the woman on my right chastised me during the opening credits for eating my popcorn too loudly, while the guy on my left was snoring almost as soon as the movie started.(originally written 5/13/2001)