webber-george This is a very interesting film, there is for sure a hint of sexual repression in it, but I think that's true of all of the Director (Campion's) films. Given the script, Nicole Kidman has a standout performance, I just think that the director didn't get the absolute best out of her, with her character somewhat lacking in belief. Her character just doesn't seem as believable as she could. Perhaps this is because the Director didn't allow enough time for Kidman's character to evolve from an innocent to a cold corrupted woman.Its for this lack of character development I felt I couldn't give the film more than a 6. There is just something lacking - almost chopped out of the film. a simple 3 years later isn't good enough explanation for such a dramatic change in character. In addition I feel there is no formal ending to the story. The production and cinematography give this film a higher rating that it might of otherwise got.Not bad but could have been better.

tieman64 "We'd have a good time, if only we'd stop trying to be happy." - Edith Wharton Jane Campion directs "The Portrait of a Lady", a film based on a Henry James novel of the same name. The plot? Nicole Kidman plays Isabel Archer, a young expatriate living in nineteenth century London. Though expected to be "sensible" and "marry a wealthy man", Isabel opts instead to be "free"; she travels around the world, turning down various marriage proposals along the way.Eventually Isabel meets the devious Gilbert Osmond (John Malkovich), whom she "freely" chooses to marry. This backfires; Gilbert's simply using Isabel to get at her impressive financial assets. The film's final act finds Isabel attempting to fight for the independence of Gilbert's daughter. If Isabel cannot be "free", then she will ensure that others can be.Anyone familiar with the proto-feminist novels of Edith Wharton, Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf etc will find very few surprises in "The Portrait of a Lady". This is ultimately a by-the-numbers account of 19th century upper-middle-class social circles, a sexist and classist milieu which cinema often delves into. The film's themes of "female independence" are given a subversive twist – Isabel would have been happier had she not enslaved herself to vague notions of "freedom", and had she succumbed instead to the very notions of romantic love which she cynically deems old-fashioned – but pale in comparison's to Campion's best films. Consider Campion's "Bright Star", also set in the 19th century, and "Holy Smoke", also about an adventurous expatriate, both of which handle this material in fresh and exciting ways.Unlike the vast majority of Campion's pictures, "Portrait's" screenplay wasn't written by its director. Because of this, "Portrait" lacks that distinct personal stamp which makes Campion's other films so special. "Portrait's" aesthetic is also routine, though Campion's able to conjure up a number of wonderful moments. The film's New Age prologue, in which Campion's camera captures the awakenings of 20th century women whose sexual revolution the film's 19th century characters will later be denied, is particularly wonderful. Several dream sequences and black-and-white interludes also hint at what Campion is capable of at her best. Nicole Kidman is excellent as the conflicted Isabel Archer.7.5/10 – See "The Remains of the Day", "The Story of Qiu Ju", "Red Sorghum" and "Raise the Red Lantern".

marc-herbert A dreadful version of the great novel. Shame on you Laura Jones. Shame on the director for depicting Isabel Archer (Nicole Kidman) as a rather plain, uninteresting young woman with a goofy hairdo. What can possibly attract all of those men who want to marry her? And the ending was completely unsatisfactory. A much better way of telling this story, since James' prose is so rich with internal motivations and feelings which cannot easily be revealed by dialogue or even by facial expressions, would be to have voice-over. This would have allowed for a much improved climax. There are only two commendable elements here. One is the cinematography and the other actor John Malkovich, who portrayed a superb Osmond.

flechette PORTRAIT OF A LADY is a sincerely made exquisitely-shot exploration of a woman wrestling with the universal conflict between the freedom to choose and the resignation and acceptance of her lot. (Men share the dilemma too!).As such, Campion's modern opening is appropriate and thought-provoking, and the intensity of the performances from all the players (perhaps with the notable exception of Shelly Winters) gives it a complexity and power that clearly many writing here just don't get.Rarely will you see such powerful images and to-die-for settings. I suspect that the car-crash action movie fans who find this too slow walked into the wrong movie-theatre or rented the wrong DVD. This film is well worth seeing and the character John Malkovich plays, Gilbert Osmond, is very believable (contrary to what the Malkovich-haters have to tell us). Manipulative cruelty is at the heart of many a long-term relationship and, like DANGEROUS LIASIONS, is a game played by the ruthless and heartless on the vulnerable and weak. Again I refer to the car-chase sensation-seekers who expect their baddies to spring from comic books. Malkovich does not have to be anything other than cold and cruel, and many a woman has fallen for a 'bastard' only to realise that she has passed on better men.GIVE THIS FILM A CHANCE - and tell us if you liked it! (I am always staggered by the vitriol poured onto movies that have some merit. What is left for the films that are truly awful?)