The Painted Veil (2006 film)
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| The Painted Veil | |
|---|---|
 Movie poster for The Painted Veil |
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| Directed by | John Curran |
| Produced by | Mark R. Gordon Bob Yari Robert F. Katz |
| Written by | Ron Nyswaner (screenplay) W. Somerset Maugham (novel) |
| Starring | Naomi Watts Edward Norton Anthony Wong Liev Schreiber |
| Music by | Alexandre Desplat |
| Cinematography | Stuart Dryburgh |
| Editing by | Alexandre de Franceschi |
| Distributed by | Warner Independent Pictures |
| Release date(s) | December 20, 2006 |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $19.4 million |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Painted Veil is a 2006 film directed by John Curran and stars Naomi Watts, Edward Norton, and Liev Schreiber. The Painted Veil is based on the novel of the same name by W. Somerset Maugham, and is the second cinematic adaptation after the 1934 MGM film starring Greta Garbo. The film had a limited release on December 20, 2006, although was quickly pulled in Australia and subsequently re-released in April 2008. Most of the film was shot in China, as director John Curran explained: "We wanted this movie to be distinctly Chinese. We didn’t want it to look like a film that you could shoot in Canada or Mexico or Italy." The scouts eventually settled on Guilin, Guangxi in southern China, after a search around Hunan province. [1]
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[edit] Plot
Kitty Garstin (Watts) is a very pretty, shallow young woman from a well-to-do London family, under pressure from her parents to find a husband. Soon after she meets him at a party, she marries Dr Walter Fane (Norton), an earnest, socially awkward bacteriologist on leave from China, although she does not love him.
The Fanes move to Shanghai, where Dr Fane is stationed in a government lab studying infectious diseases. Soon bored, Kitty meets Charles Townsend (Schreiber), a married British diplomat who is a serial womanizer, and has an affair with him. When Walter finds out, he gives her an ultimatum: accompany him to the Chinese interior to assist with a cholera epidemic relief effort for which he has volunteered, or face a divorce on the grounds of her adultery.
Kitty turns to Townsend to persuade him to divorce his wife and marry her. When Townsend – to Kitty's surprise, but not Walter's – refuses to leave his wife for Kitty, she is compelled to travel inland with her husband.
The Fanes travel hard for two weeks. Kitty is despondent while Walter is insensitive to her distress. When they reach their destination, Waddington (Toby Jones) expresses surprise when Kitty explains that their fatigue is due to the two-week journey. It becomes apparent that their method of travel – even though other routes and modes were available – was chosen specifically by Walter in order to punish Kitty.
At first, Walter and Kitty barely speak to each other. Kitty is miserable and feels useless with nothing to do all day. After a visit, she decides to volunteer at a local orphanage run by French nuns. The Mother Superior (Diana Rigg) puts her to work in the music room. Dr Fane also visits the orphanage outside his lab work, and Kitty is surprised to learn from the Mother Superior that Walter loves children. In this setting, Kitty begins to see her apparently cold husband in a new light, as she learns what a selfless and caring person he can be.
The Fanes' marriage blossoms into love. Kitty grows to care about the children at the orphanage, while Walter tends to the sick and looks for a way to stop the spread of the epidemic. This is difficult due to resistance from the populace and the local warlord in the politically torn China of the 1920s.
After their reconciliation, Kitty learns she is pregnant, but is unsure whether Charlie or Walter is the father. Walter – in love with Kitty again – tells her that it no longer matters, while she sobs in relief and love for her husband. Just as the local cholera problem is coming under control, diseased refugees from elsewhere pour into the area, forcing Walter to set up a refugee camp outside town.
Walter contracts cholera and Kitty runs to the camp to nurse him. He dies, devastating Kitty, who returns to London. Five years later, walking with her young son Walter, Kitty runs into Townsend on the street. Townsend makes small talk with them both for a short while and begins to suggest a meeting with Kitty. However, Kitty rejects his overtures and walks away.
[edit] Production
The film was shot mainly in Guilin, Lijiang River.
[edit] Critical reception
As of September 2, 2007, the film had a score of 75% on RottenTomatoes based on 133 reviews and a score of 69% on MetaCritic based on 33 reviews.
[edit] Awards
Alexandre Desplat won both the Golden Globe Award and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Score.
Ron Nyswaner won the 2006 NBR Award for Best Screenplay - Adapted.
The film was also nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards: for the screenplay, and for Best Male Lead (Edward Norton).
Though winning Golden Globe for Best Score, the film was not given a nomination in any category at the Oscars.
