The Portrait of a Lady (1996)

Synopsis: Nicole Kidman stars in this dark, elaborate adaptation of Henry James's novel, director Jane Campion's follow-up to THE PIANO. American Isabel Archer (Kidman) visits her wealthy relatives in 1872... Nicole Kidman stars in this dark, elaborate adaptation of Henry James's novel, director Jane Campion's follow-up to THE PIANO. American Isabel Archer (Kidman) visits her wealthy relatives in 1872 England, where she turns down an offer of marriage by a kind and rich suitor (Richard E. Grant) in order to see the world and experience life. Her consumptive cousin (Martin Donovan) is secretly in love with her and arranges that she inherit a fortune so she can fulfill this desire, but she lets herself be seduced into marriage by a manipulative, egotistical aesthete named Osmond (John Malkovich). As Osmond works to subjugate her, it's up to Isabel to see the truth and earn back her dying cousin's faith. The stellar cast includes Viggo Mortenson, Mary-Louise Parker, Shelley Winters, Christian Bale, Shelley Duvall, Valentina Cervi as Osmond's beautiful, dominated daughter, and, best of all, Barbara Hershey as Madame Servena, Isabel's scheming friend. The moving, nuanced performances are complemented and at times even eclipsed by Janet Patterson's ethereal costume designs, the decadently dark color schemes, and Campion's graceful camera movements. [More]

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Barbara Hershey, John Malkovich, Martin Donovan

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Barbara Hershey, John Malkovich, Martin Donovan, Mary-Louise Parker, Richard E. Grant, Shelley Duvall, John Gielgud

Director: Jane Campion

Director: Jane Campion
Screenwriter: Laura Jones
Story: Henry James
Composer: Wojciech Kilar

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