The Golden Bowl **** (Nick Nolte, Uma Thurman, Jeremy Northam, Kate Beckinsale) – Classic Film Review 1217

Nick Nolte is brilliant in producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory’s splendid, intense, beautifully realised 2000 film version of the classic novel by Henry James.

What tangled webs we weave! A poverty-stricken Italian, Prince Amerigo (Jeremy Northam) marries London-based widowed US billionaire Adam Verver (Nolte)’s daughter Maggie (Kate Beckinsale), even though Amerigo’s in love with her best friend, Charlotte (Uma Thurman). Then Maggie gets her father interested in Charlotte, who’s pleased because this keeps her near Amerigo.

And, boy, do Henry James and Merchant-Ivory weave one heck of a marvellous spell out of this little web! Their usual collaborator Ruth Prawer Jhabvala makes a lovely job of the screenplay, cinematographer Tony Pierce-Roberts makes it look gorgeous and composer Richard Robbins makes it sound glorious.

It’s a pity that the normally excellent Northam is miscast and struggling so badly with his Italian character and accent. Apart from Northam, the movie’s virtually perfect. Anjelica Huston’s also outstanding as Mrs Assingham, a matchmaking American socialite, whose meddling brings down the whole deck of cards. James Fox, Madeleine Potter, Nicholas Day, Peter Eyre and Nickolas Grace are also in the cast.

(C) Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Film Review 1217

Link to Derek Winnert’s home page for more film reviews: http://derekwinnert.com/