A Good Woman

A Good Woman

A Good Woman

Oscar Wilde has been let down badly by this adaptation. The first main problem is the mis-casting - neither Helen Hunt nor Scarlett Johanssen are convincing in their roles. Scarlett in particular fails woefully to capture either the innocence of a young, newly married woman or the pain and angst resultant from her husband's actions. (It's not the first time she's failed at such a role - see 'Lost in Translation' for similarly wooden acting). She seems transparently ill-at-ease with the role, though what young actress can portray innocence these days? Helen Hunt also fails to capture anything like the cunning, moral ambivalence, or self-denial that her character should have. Helen Mirren would have been a much more appropriate choice. The script is poor - I got the impression that many scenes contained a barrage of Wilde'e one-liners and quips, which gave them a false, unreal quality. The plot also had a few large holes - as other commentators have described. The movie's only saving graces are Tom Wilkinson's performance and elements of Wilde's script.

Helen Hunt's reverberating heady drone made her particularly uninteresting to watch. Repeating tonal inflections line after line delivered by her made for a very dull performance. The editing was also dreadful. Many shots that deserved length for focus on character or emphasis on plot points were cut too quickly leaving the audience watching characters with inconsequential information to deliver. Many takes on Helen Hunt were cut before she barely made eye contact with other players or the camera. Line delivery by many of the actors was flat and lifeless. Actors' facial expression was so far off-camera or profile that any life that the actor may have brought to the part was lost on the tableau of the scene. Tom Wilkinson as Tuppy gave a solid performance, if not slightly stubbed by the Director working against him. Supporting character portrayals by Milena Vukotic and John Standing were more than adequate and even delightful at times. But for the amount of screen time they were given, and despite the beautiful sets and locations, they could not make up for the droll action and lack of tension needed to make the story stand on its feet. A very boring waste of time.

I thought I would treat myself to two Scarlett Johansson films this morning and I am glad that I did. As lovely as she was in Lost in Translation, she was dazzling in A Good Woman. This film requires that you invest your full attention or you will miss most of the really great gems: "I like America. Name me another society that's gone from barbarism to decadence without bothering to create a civilization in between." "You're so fond of gossip you don't give the truth a chance to put its pants on." "Every man is born truthful and every man dies a liar." "Crying is the refuge of plain women. Pretty women go shopping." Oh, there were so many many more. That was what was so great about this film - aside from staring at Scarlett, of course. I have always liked Helen Hunt, and she played magnificently here. I remember her fondly from "Mad About You." The only other movie I have seen her in was "As Good as it Gets," but I will be looking for "Bobby" to see her again. I won't go into the details of the story as that would spoil it for you, suffice it to say that it makes for a very interesting background to this film about love and morals. It is sweet, funny, tender, and imminently fun.

I was excited to see a new version of Lady Windermere's Fan, because I absolutely loved the version with Helena Little (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0323012/). It's a couple decades old, and it looks a little dated. You might notice there, though, that the only credited writer is Oscar Wilde, which makes sense for one of the greatest writers in the English language. What one gets here is the basic plot put into a blender with random Wilde quotes, which end up out of context and ridiculous. Of course they're still going to sound witty in any context, Wilde is just like that, but these characters sound like people trying very hard to achieve their cleverness, instead of simply having delightful conversations. It was so frustrating to see all the SENSE taken out of the writing that I had to stop watching halfway through. Plus Helen Hunt was just speaking her lines in a monotone, and Scarlett Johanson's idea of appearing innocent seems to be to just minimize her expressions as much as possible. Staring around vacantly doesn't do much to convey rigid thinking. I gave it the second star for the costumes and locations. Very pretty. Very stupid.

I can't believe that anyone thought that Helen Hunt's performance was anything but horrible. I don't know whether it was the fault of the director, the casting director, or that she just doesn't get Wilde, but it was possibly the worst performance of the year. This part needed a younger version of Susan Sarandon to pull it off. She just wasn't believable as a seductress, and her lines were delivered so poorly... it was excruciating. Everyone else in the movie was wonderful, leading me to believe that it was just a poor casting choice or poor acting on her part. See it, if you must, but be warned.

What a terrible disappointment. Based on one of Oscar Wilde's greatest plays (Lady Windermere's Fan), this adaptation is a dull mess. Wilde's play is set among the drawing rooms of 19th century British aristocracy. Lord and Lady Windermere are recently married. But they become victims of gossip as Lord Windermere is seen in the company of Mrs Elynne, a divorcée with a reputation and not of aristocratic lineage. Word eventually gets back to Lady Windermere and the challenge for her is to deal with the gossip and her love for her husband in light of his betrayal. Unbeknownst to anyone, Mrs Elynne is black-mailing Lord Windermere. She is in fact the mother of Lady Windermere, whom she abandoned as a child. Lord Windermere is protecting the name and honour of his new wife. THe beauty of the play is, along with the wonderful text, is that it is so claustrophobic, rarely moving outside the drawing rooms and interiors of the London homes of the wealthy. The slightest hint of gossip is magnified by the fact that it never seems to leave the 4 walls, thus heightening the impact of the gossip. As with gossip, little is seen, only talked about. It is therefore strange that this film has been moved to the 1930s and the Amalfi Coast towards the end of the season. Mrs Erlynne is an outsider as she is an American with a reputation - 'Americans speak loudly and are so vulgar' is the view to justify her being unaccepted by the holidaying aristocratic Brits and Europeans. The story remains the same, but we see ludicrous scenarios whereby Lord Windermere is seen parking his Rolls outside the villa of Mrs Erlynne (which he is paying for), providing the perfect 'proof' that he is having an affair with her. Dumb or what? And then there's Helen Hunt as Mrs Erlynne. Sorry - completely wrong casting. It just doesn't work. Ultimately, the film never really takes off. Wilde's famous humour is 'swallowed' or thrown away by the cast ('if there's one thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about' is almost lost in the film): only Tom Wilkinson as Tubby is worth watching. A period/costume drama that tries hard but ultimately has no substance, pacing that plods along without engaging the audience. Dull, dull, dull.

Based on Wilde's work, 'A Good Woman' is a decent enough film to be enjoyed once. Not surprisingly, there are some great clever dialogues. The costumes are very good and the locations are exceptional. The use of subtle comedy with drama is impressive but the drama is not engaging enough to stay in the viewers mind after the film has ended. It is quite easily a forgettable film that can be enjoyed only at the moment. On the technical front, the film is okay. Cinematography is uneven and flat at times. It's great to see Helen Hunt after a long time on screen. She looks a lot older (than she actually was at the time) but at the same time very sensual. However, her nuances do not exactly much the traits of a woman from that time period. Scarlett Johansson has that clueless look that we have witnessed in pretty much everything else she's done. Now the best part of the film is Tom Wilkinson who clearly steals the show with a delightfully endearing comedic performance. As stated earlier, watch this romantic comedy just to enjoy it for the moment. It's much better than the silly fluffy rom-coms so often produced in America.