This stunning piece of filmwork is a fairly unforgettable story about an independent-minded, but naive, young, American socialite who gets caught in a European intrigue. Nicole Kidman is pitch perfect as the provocative youth, Isabel Archer, and John Malkovich is appropriately cast as her serpentine foil and husband, Gilbert Osmond. The two standouts, however, are Barbara Hershey as the duplicitous family friend who traps Kidman (for which she recieved an Academy award nomination) and the marvelous production headed by a triumphant Jane Campion. She’s triumphant because she manages to turn this potentially melodramtic material into something of a spiritual struggle for all the characters concerned. It can’t be easy to do though it certainly is fascinating to watch.
by Marlin Tyree | Source: Polygram DVD
21 May 2007 5:40 PM | Submit Comment
