The Portrait of a Lady (1996)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Jane Campion

Writers:

Henry James (novel)
Laura Jones (screenplay)

Release Date:

17 January 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Isabel Archer, an American heiress and free thinker travels to Europe to find herself. She tactfully rebuffs the advances of Caspar Goodwood...

Plot Keywords:

Art | Sexuality | Victorian Era | Consumption | Nun

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Nicole Kidman	...	Isabel Archer
John Malkovich	...	Gilbert Osmond
Barbara Hershey	...	Madame Serena Merle
Mary-Louise Parker	...	Henrietta Stackpole
Martin Donovan	...	Ralph Touchett
Shelley Winters	...	Mrs. Touchett
Richard E. Grant	...	Lord Warburton
Shelley Duvall	...	Countess Gemini
Christian Bale	...	Edward Rosier
Viggo Mortensen	...	Caspar Goodwood
Valentina Cervi	...	Pansy Osmond
John Gielgud	...	Mr. Touchett
Roger Ashton-Griffiths	...	Bob Bantling
Catherine Zago	...	Mother Superior
Alessandra Vanzi	...	Nun #2

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature sensuality and some brief nudity.

Runtime:

144 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Iceland:L | South Korea:18 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #34839) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Belgium:KT | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | Germany:12 (bw) | Italy:T | Mexico:B | Netherlands:12 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:7 | Sweden:Btl | UK:12

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Company:

Polygram Filmed Entertainment

Trivia:

The opening theme of "Portrait of a Lady" came to Wojciech Kilar when he was flying back to Poland from a meeting with director Jane Campion. Lacking manuscript paper he scribbled it on his boarding pass.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the ball scene, a full orchestra can be heard while only a chamber orchestra (less than ten people) appears on the screen.

Quotes:

Ralph Touchett: I love you but without hope.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Killing Floor (2007)

Soundtrack:

The Skater's Waltz

Overwhelming!

I did not really like the movie, at first. Nice, okay, but that was all, I thought.. Meanwhile I read the novel, watched the film again and again... And I love it more and more! Okay, NOTHING compares to "The Piano", but it's simply stunning.

Jane Campion (what a director!) tells the fascinating story of Isabel in unforgettable pictures and very true to the original novel of Henry James. Nicole Kidman is just made to play the main-character and the whole cast is without exception astonishing and powerful.

Kilar's musical score... A dream! Ardent, subtle themes, flowing and catchy. But not only that: The film succeeded in picking out the two most beautiful Piano-Pieces Franz Schubert ever composed; and melts story, pictures and music perfectly together.

To all the people who don't like or even hate "The Portrait of a Lady": I'd like to point out, it is a masterpiece! Point.

Watch it in a rainy afternoon, listen closely to the music and check out the - without a doubt - most beautiful ending of film-history!

Thank you.