It is the theory of a male critic I know that they put Nicole Kidman in
movies like "The
Portrait of a Lady" because otherwise no one would go see them at all.
Well, then why
don't they put Tom Cruise in to make it equally watchable for the ladies?
Because Tom
can't be seductively evil the way John Malkovich can. It still doesn't
make "Portrait" any
more understandable, but that is Jane Campion's problem, not the actors.
As director of
Henry James' classic novel, she gives no true understanding of how the bold,
independent
Kidman is not someone that would be admired at that time for those qualities
especially
when she turns down suitors to do some globe trotting. When she miraculously
receives
a large inheritance, it becomes a curse and her independence is turned against
her. Made
me want to give her a copy of "Women Who Love Too Much" or "Ten
Stupid Things
Women Do" and tell her to grow up. But the performance of Barbara
Hershey as her
duplicitous friend is worth the Oscar nomination it received. It doesn't
make the movie
worth renting, but it is handy if you have a book report due. Just remember
that at the
end of the book, she doesn't get to have a fade-out, she returns to Italy.
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