The Golden Bowl
"Terrific! A Gripping Drama of Love and Adultery!" -Jonathan Foreman, The New York Post
The Golden Bowl, set in England and Italy during the early 1900s, is the story of Maggie (Kate Beckinsale), the daughter of an American tycoon, Adam Verver (Nick Nolte), who marries an impoverished yet charming Italian aristocrat, Prince Amerigo (Jeremy Northam). Through a twist of fate, Adam marries the Prince's former lover Charlotte Stant (Uma Thurman). Maggie's suspicion of an affair between the Prince and Charlotte grows after the ill-fated purchase of a golden bowl. It becomes only a matter of time before Maggie unravels the truth from a world of deception and lies.
Member Reviews
Good but not great - crazyboutmovies
Considering the fact that this movie came from the creative team that gave us "A Room With a View", "Howard's End", and "Remains of the Day", this present movie pales a bit in comparison. That said, I would still say that this is a perfectly good and enjoyable, if not great, film.
The characters in the story, and the story itself, contrast American society with European society. Europe is portrayed as a land of beauty, of art, of good living, while American (at the turn of the 20th cenruty) is portrayed as an industrial wasteland, filled with Philistines who could not even appreciate fine art. Even the billionaire Adam Verver constantly refers to the place from which he came simpley "American City", without naming one particular city.
The Merchant-Ivory team has the ability to create tension in the atmosphere within surroundings of complete calm, even idyllic. The tension between the two couples, especially towards the end of the movie, becomes almost unberable.
As with other productions from these creative artists, the setting and backdrop for every scene are simply feasts for the eye. I suppose we have Britain's National Trust to thank for keeping stunning old buildings in pristine condition, rather than letting them fall into the hands of evil real estate developers.Deadly Boring - JenX
Given the cast, I expected something more. Something...interesting. This was just so boring. I didn't care what happened to any of the characters (except Anjelica Huston, she was great), and finally had to turn it off after two hours (10 minutes before the ending, I discovered). Yawn...
Member Reviews
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Good but not great - crazyboutmovies
Considering the fact that this movie came from the creative team that gave us "A Room With a View", "Howard's End", and "Remains of the Day", this present movie pales a bit in comparison. That said, I would still say that this is a perfectly good and enjoyable, ...Deadly Boring - JenX
Given the cast, I expected something more. Something...interesting. This was just so boring. I didn't care what happened to any of the characters (except Anjelica Huston, she was great), and finally had to turn it off after two hours (10 minutes before the ...