Cinescapade - Golden Bowl

The Golden Bowl
USA/France/UK, 2000. Directed by James Ivory, scenario by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala adapted from a novel by Henry James. Starring Uma Thurman, Kate Beckinsale, Jeremy Northam, Nick Nolte and Anjelica Houston.
In English, 130 minutes, rated R. Lions Gate Films.

In Hollywood's million-dollar, action flick dominated ball court, some moviegoers still count on certain filmmakers for slower-paced, more intellectual movies. Inspired by English and American literature, Merchant and Ivory have been reviving a more genteel way of life on the silver screen for the last 20 years. With its stunning costumes, breathtaking outdoor settings and character-driven scenario, The Golden Bowl contains all the elements of the trademark Merchant-Ivory period-piece style. Yet after seeing the team's latest production, an adaptation of Henry James' "The Golden Bowl", one can only wonder if the celebrated duo has become yet another victim of the mainstream's pressure. The movie is contrived at times, out of character at others, and ultimately feels like a stylistic exercise, making the two-plus hours of screen time drag on.

In "The Golden Bowl", Henry James sets up an elaborate stage of betrayal and deceit. Charlotte (Uma Thurman) loves Amerigo (Jeremy Northam), a destitute Italian prince. As they are both poor and have no prospects together, Amerigo ends their affair and gets engaged to a rich American girl instead. To complicate matters, the heiress, Maggie (played by Kate Beckinsale), also happens to be Charlotte's best friend. Maggie is blissfully ignorant of her friend's past affair with her soon-to-be husband and does not notice Charlotte's scheming either, while Charlotte is willing to go to any extent to get her lover back, even marrying Maggie's father, Adam Verver (a wonderful Nick Nolte), to be closer to her loved one.

It is the classical love triangle with a typically Jamesian twist. In other words, the convoluted scenario isn't groundbreaking. Kubrick's Lolita toys with the same concept: the debasement of a man marrying a woman he dislikes just to be closer to her thirteen year-old daughter, the true object of his desire. But in The Golden Bowl as in all of James' work, the characters' societal positions and the complex, psychological behaviors that these entail add unexpected turns to all too familiar stories. The film doesn't focus on Charlotte's marriage as much as it does on her pursuit of Amerigo and the slow erosion of her dignity and sense of loyalty as her desperation increases. The prince finally falls pray to his former mistress, but more because of his loneliness than as the result of Charlotte's constant nagging and scheming. His wife's devotion to her beloved father, as well as her blindness to Charlotte's intrigues, alienate Amerigo in the long run.

Yet the unfolding of these subtle twists of fate simply feels awkward at times in Merchant-Ivory's adaptation. Neither director nor actors seem convinced that the story is good enough to sustain the audience's interest. Except for Nick Nolte's striking, effortless performance, the cast of The Golden Bowl half-heartedly drags their feet through most of the movie. Only Uma Thurman puts much enthusiasm in her part, so much that she bounces through the slow-paced staging, unable to tone down her modern mannerisms and gait. The adaptation feels heavy-handed at times, which is unexpected coming from Ivory and his long time associate, screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. The opening scene for example, that recreates the killing of Amerigo's adulterous ancestors, and the recurrence of parts of this event throughout The Golden Bowl are superfluous and cumbersome. Other scenes weigh the movie down, hammering in points that have already been made. The documentary episodes flashing by clash with the overall style while abrupt cuts, seemingly intended to bring excitement to the movie, alter its pace and make the character development and unfolding of events look outdated and somewhat absurd.

In a character-driven film, the atmosphere is crucial and action should take the second place. The over-dramatization in The Golden Bowl makes the movie depart from this in what seems to be an attempt to follow current moviemaking trends. However, the result of this halfway compromise between Merchant-Ivory's trademark filmmaking style and a more trendy cinematographic approach only burdens the movie and draws it out. Let's just hope that Merchant and Ivory will return to their own distinctive style so we can enjoy their depictions of old-fashioned, improbable yesterdays a little longer.