The Portrait of a Lady Movie

The Portrait of a Lady
Rating:
Run Time: 144 min
MPAA Rating: PG13
Released: 1996
Directors: Jane Campion
Genre/Type: Drama
Romantic Drama
Period Film
Feminist Film
Producers: Steve Golin
Monty Montgomery
Plot Synopsis by Mark Deming
Jane Campion directed this expressive adaptation of the classic novel by Henry James. Isabel Archer (Nicole Kidman) is a young American woman who, after the death of her parents, has been sent to England to visit relatives. While her family's tragedy has left her penniless, Isabel's beauty has earned her the attentions of a number of eligible men. When Isabel turns down a proposal of marriage from the wealthy Lord Warburton (Richard E. Grant) because she does not love him, her cousin Ralph (Martin Donovan), who is also smitten with her, arranges for his father to leave her a fortune before succumbing to tuberculosis so that she may live as an independent woman. Isabel takes a tour of Europe, where she meets Madame Merle (Barbara Hershey), a jaded sophisticate and matchmaker who introduces her to Gilbert Osmond (John Malkovich), a widowed American artist living abroad. Isabel falls in love with Gilbert and they marry, but his sloth and opportunism soon begin to wear on her, and three years later she is desperate to get out of their relationship. The Portrait of a Lady also stars John Gielgud, Mary-Louise Parker, Christian Bale, and Shelley Winters.

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Henry James wrote The Portrait of a Lady in 1881. T.S. Eliot published the poem "Portrait of a Lady" in 1915. Presumably he wrote it shortly before that.
The novel "The Portrait of a Lady" was written by Henry James. In 1996 Nicole Kidman played Isabelle Archer in the movie. ChaCha!
Isabel Archer, an American heiress and free thinker travels to Europe to find herself. She tactfully rebuffs the advances of Caspar Goodwood... more | add synopsis

Cast

Actors Character Born
Nicole Kidman Isabel Archer Jun 20, 1967 in Hawaii
John Malkovich Gilbert Osmond Dec 9, 1953 in Christopher, IL
Barbara Hershey Madame Serena Merle Feb 5, 1948 in Hollywood, CA
Mary-Louise Parker Henrietta Stackpole Aug 2, 1964 in Fort Jackson, SC
Martin Donovan Ralph Touchett Aug 19, 1957 in Reseda, CA
Shelley Winters Mrs. Touchett Aug 18, 1922 in East St. Louis, IL
Richard E. Grant Lord Warburton May 5, 1957 in Mbabane, Swaziland, South Africa
Shelley Duvall Countess Gemini Jul 7, 1949 in Houston, TX
Christian Bale Edward Rosier Jan 30, 1974 in Pembrokeshire, Wales
Viggo Mortensen Caspar Goodwood Oct 20, 1958 in New York, NY
Valentina Cervi Pansy Osmond
John Gielgud Mr.Touchett Apr 14, 1904 in London, England, UK

Back to the topReview

Review by Lucia Bozzola
Given The Piano's singular period story about an independent-minded woman, it is not surprising that Jane Campion's stylized version of Henry James' The Portrait of a Lady (1996) is more of an interpretation rather than an adaptation. With an opening montage of modern women, Campion and screenwriter Laura Jones stake a claim to the contemporary resonance in the story of naïve American heiress Isabel Archer. Injecting moments of surreal fantasy into the beautifully expressive, blue-tinged period surroundings, Campion alludes to the cravings that provoke Isabel to reject a safe marriage in favor of freedom. Why Isabel is easily seduced by the scheming Mme. Merle and the reptilian fortune hunter Osmond, however, remains elusive; John Malkovich's transparently malevolent Osmond makes Nicole Kidman's Isabel an inexplicable fool for love. Still, Barbara Hershey's complex Mme. Merle speaks to the damage inflicted on women by an oppressive social order, while Martin Donovan's eloquently restrained cousin Ralph powerfully attests to what might have been for Isabel. Provoking a deeply mixed response, The Portrait of a Lady failed to repeat The Piano's success, though the costumes and Hershey's performance earned Oscar nominations.
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