The Rice Thresher

Location: http://the.ricethresher.org/ae/2007/01/12/painted_veil_review

January 12, 2007 > Arts & Entertainment > The Painted Veil’s admirable acting fails to save its slow story

The Painted Veil’s admirable acting fails to save its slow story

By Tasha Chemplavil | Thresher Editorial Staff

In The Painted Veil, Edward Norton (The Illusionist) and Naomi Watts (King Kong) take on their roles as Walter and Kitty Fane seamlessly. But superb acting is not enough to overcome this distractingly slow story.

Based on W. Somerset Maugham’s novel of the same name, The Painted Veil tells the story of a scientist and his philandering wife whose 1920s societal standards prevent them from divorcing. As revenge for his wife’s infidelity, the cuckold Walter accepts a job in a remote Chinese village amid a cholera epidemic — and forces his wife to accompany him.

The details of the couple’s courtship and Kitty’s adultery are revealed through flashbacks as the pair undertakes the arduous journey to the disease- riddled village.

Succumbing to her mother’s pressure to settle down, the progressively feminist Kitty married Walter, a socially awkward government scientist. Walter’s job as an infectious bacteriologist takes Kitty and him out of London and into Shanghai. Here Kitty meets Charlie Townsend (played by Watts’ real-life beau, The Omen’s Liev Schreiber) and the two embark on their illicit affair.

When he discovers his wife’s philandering, the normally submissive Walter finally displays some chutzpah, refusing to grant Kitty a divorce and thus admit any wrongdoing. Instead, he informs Kitty of his plans to enter the choleric community. Once Kitty realizes her beloved Charlie has no plans to leave his wife for her, she reluctantly agrees to go with her husband.

The once cloyingly eager-to-please Walter now ignores Kitty, finding perusing paperwork preferable to her dinner conversation. Formerly outgoing and personable, Kitty finds herself in a state of utter isolation — both linguistically and socially. The tension created by the couple’s mutual disregard for one another is palpable.

As Walter and Kitty become accustomed to their lives in rural China, the audience gets acquainted with their personalities. Their formerly disparate characters prove to be more similar than they thought.

Kitty’s boredom due to social isolation causes her to seek activity outside of the couple’s humble abode. She decides to volunteer at the local Catholic orphanage run by French nuns. Her volunteering duties allow her to see her husband in action, and she realizes that under his boring facade lies a kindhearted man.

At the same time, Kitty’s volunteering shows Walter that she is not the spoiled, impossible-to-please woman he thought she was.

Threatening situations spurred by political unrest and cholera scares show Walter and Kitty that they love each other despite their roller-coaster history.

While Norton and Watts’ acting skills shine in The Painted Veil, a less predictable outcome would have been a better vehicle for their talents. The pair succeeds in making the characters’ transitions from boring sycophant to loving husband and from spoiled brat to kindhearted wife believable. The metamorphosis from easy-to-hate to easy-to-love is difficult to achieve convincingly, but Norton and Watts pull it off famously.

Unfortunately, subplots interfere with the transitions, lengthening the story and failing to hold the audience’s attention. Infamous’ Toby Jones’ portrayal of the straightforward Waddington is admirable, but the excess time spent on developing his character is unnecessary and distracting.

The rarely-utilized 1920s rural Chinese village setting is unique and allows for unusual situations as well as eye-catching panoramas. But once the novelty of the setting wears off, much of the story becomes predictable.

The conclusion of the film is almost perfect — with a beautiful parting shot of a boat sailing away from the village on a picturesque river that gradually becomes occluded with fog. But an additional scene after this visual masterpiece dampens the poignancy of the river scene and takes away from the audience’s feeling of resolution. What could have been an artistic denouement becomes a last-ditch effort to tie up long-forgotten loose ends.

The Painted Veil illuminates a new historical backdrop for filmmakers and the acting talents of Norton and Watts go far in making the film worthwhile, but the effort it takes to get to the film’s predictable ending makes the viewer contemplate the swift release of cholera.

End of article

Back to top