Stars: Nicole Kidman, John Malkovich, Barbara Hershey, Marie-Louise Parker, Martin Donovan, Shelley Winters, Richard E. Grant, Shelley Duvall

Director: Jane Campion

Summary: The late 19th Century finds Isabel Archer rejecting a lucrative marriage proposal in favour of exploring the world... Adapted from the novel by Henry James.

Nicole Kidman stars in this dark, elaborate adaptation of Henry James's novel, director Jane Campion's follow-up to THE PIANO. American Isabel Archer (Kidman) visits her wealthy relatives in 1872 England, where she turns down an offer of marriage by a kind and rich suitor (Richard E. Grant) in order to see the world and experience life. Her consumptive cousin (Martin Donovan) is secretly in love with her and arranges that she inherit a fortune so she can fulfill this desire, but she lets herself be seduced into marriage by a manipulative, egotistical aesthete named Osmond (John Malkovich). As Osmond works to subjugate her, it's up to Isabel to see the truth and earn back her dying cousin's faith. The stellar cast includes Viggo Mortenson, Mary-Louise Parker, Shelley Winters, Christian Bale, Shelley Duvall, Valentina Cervi as Osmond's beautiful, dominated daughter, and, best of all, Barbara Hershey as Madame Servena, Isabel's scheming friend. The moving, nuanced performances are complemented and at times even eclipsed by Janet Patterson's ethereal costume designs, the decadently dark color schemes, and Campion's graceful camera movements.

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Leave it to New Zealand director Jane Campion (The Piano, Angel at My Table) to begin an adaptation of Henry James's great novel (set in the late 1800s) with a group of late-20th-century women from Down Under talking about the importance of a kiss. Like any good film adaptation (and it's a very good one, indeed), this exquisitely framed and mounted Portrait of a Ladyis at least as much Campion as it is James. The story of strong-willed, independent-minded Isabel Archer (Nicole Kidman, whose skin here is photographed like delicate porcelain) is a tricky one to dramatise, since it's largely about good intentions going awry, roads not taken, misguided decisions made for good reasons. Headstrong American orphan Isabel rejects the proposal of a decent, sensible English suitor, Lord Warburton (Richard E. Grant), because she wants to find her own destiny and identity first. Instead, she is seduced by Gilbert Osmond (John Malkovich), an effete collector of art (and women) whom one character describes as a "sterile dilettante". How Isabel's life, and the lives of those who love her, are affected by this fateful (but irreversible?) decision is what the bulk of the film is about. Portrait of a Ladyis lovely, heartbreaking, and at times terrifying--as only coming face-to-face with the consequences of one's own life-changing decisions can be. --Jim Emerson

Aspect Ratio:	16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Trailer, Documentary
Subtitles:	Dutch, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
Year:	1996
Release Date:	June 25, 2001
Runtime:	139 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	902 562 2
Keywords:	Lady, General, Wide, Screen, Portrait, Drama, Period
Genre:	Drama