The Painted Veil (film) Review

The Painted Veil                        

Director/Studio/Author: John Curran/Warner Home Video/w. Somerset Maugham

Original release date: May 8, 2007

Format, Genre and length: DVD/Drama/125 minutes

Publisher/Industry Age Rating: PG-13

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

The time is 1925, the place China. Dr. and Mrs. Walter Fane, having lived in Shanghai for two years, are traveling to a remote area of the country because of a cholera epidemic, despite the fact that Walter Fane (Edward Norton) is a bacteriologist, not a physician. He and Kitty Fane (Naomi Watts) have lived in China since they were first married.

The trip to the cholera-infested village is a far cry from that of their arrival, as there is a palpable tension between them. It seems that Kitty was unfaithful to him with the Vice Consul of Shanghai, Charlie Townsend (Liev Schrieber). When Walter tells her of the epidemic he has volunteered to help with, she informs him that is no place for a woman, and refuses to go... until he tells her if she does not, he will file for divorce, which would be a heavy blow to her social position.

The Painted Veil, based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham, explores the relationship between Walter and Kitty against the backdrop of the epidemic. I’ve covered the story in more depth in my review of the book. When I saw there was a film, I was curious to know how well it was adapted to the screen.

The story has been fleshed out somewhat, of necessity, as the novel is in Kitty’s POV, which does not tell us as much as we’d like of Walter and his mindset. I think the screenwriter bridged the gap rather well, and Edward Norton brings him to life, endearing him to me in a way the novel never did.

Naomi Watts plays Kitty well. She begins the film as a shallow, empty-headed woman whose sole goal in life is to be married, not for love but because it’s the thing to do. She justifies her affair to herself because she doesn’t love Walter, and she believes herself in love with Charlie. Well, Walter helps her to see Charlie for what he really is. Her journey is one of self-discovery. At the beginning, Walter loves her very much and she barely sees him, but over the course of the film, she comes to realize his true worth, as well as her own, as they find one another.

Can love make everything right? Unfortunately, some things are beyond its ability to heal, and the film has a bittersweet ending.

It is a well-done adaptation of the novel, and even though it romanticizes their relationship at the end, I think I prefer the changes, which make a potentially depressing film into a sad one. It may not be action-packed—Maugham’s stories seldom are—but it possesses a definite depth of character. Look for Toby Jones (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) as Waddington, the Englishman that becomes Kitty’s confidante in a strange land.

The cinematography is beautiful, and so is the music that is used in the soundtrack.

I highly recommend this film if you enjoy such films as The English Patient.

Dear Zachary Review

Dear Zachary  

Director/Studio/Author: Kurt Kuenne/Oscilloscope Studios/Kurt Kuenne

American release date: February 24, 2009

Format/Genre/Length: DVD/Documentary/95 minutes

Publisher/Industry Age Rating: NR

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Andrew Bagby was a special young man with a big heart, whose potential was destroyed, his life cut short by a psychotic woman. This is his story—and more.

Synopsis:

Andrew was a nice looking, friendly young man with a lot of personality, and a lot of drive. His  death came as a shock to many people. The manner of his dying was especially horrific, coming at the hands of a woman he’d dated but had broken up with. She refused to accept that from him, and because he spurned her, she killed him, then fled the US for her native land of Canada. St. Johns Newfoundland, to be precise. Andrew’s parents, Katie and David, fought to get her extradited back to the US to stand trial for the murder of their son. The plot thickened. It turned out that Shirley Turner, Andrew’s ex and his killer, was four months pregnant with Andrew’s child. What followed was a nightmare.

Katie and David moved from their home in California to Canada in order to be near their grandchild, and to be a part of his life, uprooting themselves from the home they’d lived in for some twenty-five years. In due course, Zachary was born. The legal shenanigans which ensued were extraordinary and ridiculous. Twice, the accused killer was set upon the streets, having been determined to be no danger to the community. Despite having three other children by three other men, all of whom had custody. Despite having threatened other lovers with suicide and/or death. If one examines Shirley Turner’s actions preceding and following her murder of Andrew Bagby, it becomes incomprehensible that this could be.

And yet it was.

And the worst was yet to come…

Commentary:

My son Michael recommended this film to me, and I’ll unabashedly admit I cried my eyes out. He’d warned me about that, told me to watch it without even knowing what it was about. He’s very wise, my son. The film was heartwrenching, poignant, touching… a fitting tribute to a man I would have loved to be able to know. His friends cannot say enough good things about him. His parents are amazing—in their devotion to him, and to his son Zachary, and in being able to instill the love and respect that they have. They’ve had to be strong, in a world gone crazy.

I watched all the extras on this film, including Andrew’s fire story, and his best man toast. And the home movies of Zachary. It’s worth every minute of it. Kurt Kuenne has captured Andrew Bagby for posterity. I commend him for it, and recommend this film to everyone.