The Portrait of a Lady (film)

Plot

In 1872, Isabel Archer is a woman who has already rejected many suitors, including the wealthy Lord Warburton and Caspar Goodwood, to whom she had initially given hope. Caspar's arrival is arranged by Henrietta, a close friend of Isabel who cares for her deeply. Isabel's strong character and free-spirited nature are adored by her cousin, Ralph Touchett, who persuades his father, her uncle, to give Isabel money so that she can be rich and independent. Upon her uncle's death, Isabel receives a fortune.

Isabel encounters Madame Serena and instantly likes her. Learning about Isabel's wealth, Serena decides to arrange a marriage between Isabel and Serena's former lover Gilbert Osmond, who lives in Florence, Italy. Gilbert is a widower and has a daughter Pansy, who grew up in a convent and is not allowed to leave the house, even to walk in the garden, when her father is away. Isabel is enchanted by Gilbert and accepts the proposal; however, she is warned by Ralph that Gilbert is a "small man" and Isabel is giving up her dreams to be in a cage with a worthless husband. Isabel is enraged and slaps Ralph, to which he calmly answers that he said what he must, that he loves Isabel, and that he knows he has no hope. It is also evident that he is slowly dying from consumption.

Gilbert is nice to Isabel until after they are married. Isabel finds herself trapped in Rome in an unhappy marriage with a fear of her abusive husband, who gradually disconnects her from all of her friends. Henrietta, Ralph, and Caspar all leave for England. Pansy is also a victim of her father's controlling behavior; she is in love with Rosier, but Gilbert has decided to arrange a marriage between her and Lord Warburton, who is attentive to Pansy just to get closer to Isabel. Isabel sees the mutual love between Pansy and Rosier and is deeply moved. Gilbert sees through Isabel's schemes to prevent Pansy from becoming engaged to Warburton, but he is too late; Lord Warburton leaves Italy. Gilbert angrily slaps Isabel and steps on her dress so that she falls on the ground. Serena deeply regrets organizing the fateful union between Gilbert and Isabel.

Isabel learns that Ralph is overtaken by consumption and is on his deathbed. She asks Gilbert to let her go to England to be with her dying cousin but receives a cold and negative answer. Pansy is sent to a convent away from her lover. Isabel is pitied by Gilbert's sister, who finally opens Isabel's eyes, telling her that Gilbert's first wife was childless and Pansy is, in fact, Gilbert and Serena's daughter. Isabel finally decides to go against her husband's wishes and leave for England. She visits Pansy and proposes to the girl to flee, but Pansy refuses, saying she wants to please her father. In the convent, Isabel also encounters Serena but proudly ignores her attempts to start a conversation. However, at the last minute before Isabel leaves, Serena runs to her - she has guessed Isabel is going to England to Ralph and reveals to Isabel that Ralph is the one who persuaded the uncle to give Isabel her fortune. On Ralph's deathbed, Isabel tearfully confesses that he has been her best friend and she loves him. Henrietta and Caspar attend Ralph's funeral. In the garden, Caspar tries to persuade Isabel to let go of her fear of her husband. They kiss passionately, but Isabel runs away to the house. She stops before the house door, and leans against it, looking back into the garden.

Cast

• Nicole Kidman as Isabel Archer
• John Malkovich as Gilbert Osmond
• Barbara Hershey as Madame Serena Merle
• Mary-Louise Parker as Henrietta Stackpole
• Martin Donovan as Ralph Touchett
• Shelley Winters as Mrs. Touchett
• Richard E. Grant as Lord Warburton
• Shelley Duvall as Countess Gemini
• Christian Bale as Edward Rosier
• Viggo Mortensen as Caspar Goodwood
• Valentina Cervi as Pansy Osmond
• John Gielgud as Mr. Touchett
• Roger Ashton-Griffiths as Bob Bantling

Reception

The Portrait of a Lady received mixed reviews from critics. It holds a 47% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 73 reviews, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The consensus summarizes: "Beautiful, indulgently heady, and pretentious, The Portrait of a Lady paints Jane Campion's directorial shortcomings in too bright a light." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 60 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.

The film grossed $3.7 million in the United States and Canada and $20 million worldwide.

Accolades

Home media

On December 11, 2012, Shout! Factory released The Portrait of a Lady: Special Edition on DVD and Blu-ray.

Notes

References

References

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2. "The Portrait of a Lady".
3. (5 September 1997). "International Star Chart".
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5. "The Portrait of a Lady Reviews". Metacritic.
6. "Home".
7. "The Portrait of a Lady (1996)".
8. "The 69th Academy Awards (1997) Nominees and Winners". [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]].
9. "1988-2013 Award Winner Archives".
10. "The Portrait of a Lady - IMDb".
11. "The Portrait of a Lady – Golden Globes".
12. "The 22nd Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards".
13. "Past Awards".
14. "1996 New York Film Critics Circle Awards".
15. "1st Annual Film Awards (1996)".
16. "1997 Satellite Awards".
17. "Past Scripter Awards".
18. "VENICE FILM FESTIVAL – 1996".
19. "digitallyOBSESSED! Press Release: The Portrait Of A Lady (Special Edition) on Blu-ray Dec 11".