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The Painted Veil Theatre Release

The Painted Veil Theatre Release Review



Overall 3.71 of 5 view all 7 reviews




Publisher's CirclePublisher's Circle
bkovacs
Annandale, VA
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Slow moving but beautiful scenery
3 star rating

looking for something different, interested in history, into movies that tell a great story
Pros

    Gorgeous scenery, Good acting, Nice sense of history

Cons
    Slow-moving, Couldn't believe Kitty's change

FEB
27
2008
I rented The Painted Veil the other day and it was an okay way to spend the night. Not great, just okay. This is a very well-made film and the filmed-on-location scenery in China is absolutely stunning. The acting is good, too. The film lost me some on the story, however.

The story starts in the mid-1920s with an aimless, rich and pampered young woman named Kitty. Other than play a little piano and flirt with the boys, she hasn't done much with her life. At a party, she meets Walter Fane, an earnest and reserved scientist who quickly courts Kitty. With nothing better to do, she agrees to marry him and they immediately depart for Shanghai, where he is a bacteriologist studying infectious disease.

Kitty is intensely bored in Shanghai, despite living in a good home. She quickly hooks up with a dashing womanizer named Charley and they begin an affair. Walter finds out about the affair and gives Kitty an ultimatum: Agree to a divorce on the grounds of adultery or travel with him to a remote village where there is a cholera epidemic. They negotiate a bit and Walter agrees that he will divorce her quietly if Charley will divorce his wife and marry Kitty. Of course, Charley will have none of it, so off to the village of pestilence Kitty and Walter go.

The village is backward compared to Shanghai and Kitty is appalled with the accommodations. She is intensely bored and looks for a spot of interesting trouble to get into. Walter is cold and uncommunicative, which is reasonable since all Kitty does is complain. Then, on a tour of the convent and hospital, she finally notices all the misery around her and decides that she can help. In a flash, she is teaching children and helping out around the convent, enough so that Walter notices her changed attitude. Walter admires the new Kitty, and Kitty seems to have a new respect for herself. Then she finds out she's pregnant.

How will Walter react to the pregnancy? Can he help the town eliminate cholera? Will he and Kitty reconnect and have a stronger marriage? Or will the disease around them finally catch up to them?

Naomi Watts was very good as Kitty, and was totally believable as a spoiled young woman. Likewise, Edward Norton was kind but awkward and uncommunicative as Walter the physician/scientist. The supporting cast was equally strong. However, the real star was the scenery, which was downright gorgeous.

My biggest problem with The Painted Veil was how quickly Kitty turned around from a spoiled brat into an intelligent, caring woman who actually deserved a guy as nice as Walter. I would have believed it better if it happened over the course of a year or two, but it takes place in just two months in the movie. I mean, she goes from Lindsey Lohan to Mother Teresa in two months... it's a little far fetched. It had to happen in two months so that the pregnancy could be stirred into the mix, but that just isn't enough time for Kitty to have a total personality transplant. Everything happens rather slowly, too. Don't expect a lot of action in The Painted Veil. There are also at least two continuity mistakes that I spotted. In one scene near the end

The Painted Veil was a respectable costume drama. However, the story is somewhat far-fetched and the pace is leisurely. Not bad but not wonderful, either. The scenery, on the other hand, is wonderful. I give three stars and a slight recommendation to The Painted Veil.

Last edited on Jun 08, 2008


I_thumb_up The Painted Veil Theatre Release is recommended by bkovacs

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I_comment_shdw24 Comments about bkovacs’s Review



bkovacs wrote on Jun 8, 2008 at 5:02PM


In response to TheBard's comment from Jun 7, 2008 at 9:15PM:

Ha! Thanks for stopping by.

--Bob


TheBard wrote on Jun 7, 2008 at 9:15PM


Did we mind-meld before you wrote this review?


bkovacs wrote on Mar 3, 2008 at 8:26AM


In response to GeorgeChabot's comment from Mar 1, 2008 at 6:20AM:

I suppose so. What struck me odd is that both the continuity errors I saw could have been easily fixed in editing... and probably made the film two seconds shorter! Thanks for the comment!

--Bob


GeorgeChabot wrote on Mar 1, 2008 at 6:20AM


There are lots of continuity goofs in movies any more. The directors seem to roll the cameras a long time with multiple takes then cherry pick it despite the different dress, makeup, and lighting. It's sloppy. You didn't see it to near the extent in the golden era.