THE PAINTED VEIL
Release Date: December 20th (limited); December 29th (wider)
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some mature sexual situations, partial nudity, disturbing images and brief drug content
Ten Words Or Less: My husband's so distant...maybe I'll go fight cholera.
Reason For Existence: It's like Merchant Ivory never left...
Mathematical Equation: Howard's End + The Constant Gardener - social relevance
Take A Look: Naomi Watts...as a brunette!
Early Buzz (Good): "Their conflicted interaction set against such an exotic locale (sensuously filmed by Stuart Dryburgh) will invite easy comparisons to David Lean (Doctor Zhivago, Ryan's Daughter) and Anthony Minghella (The English Patient). It certainly is as classic—and effective—a romance as any of those." - Michael Guillén, Twitch
Early Buzz (Bad): "If a drama across sweeping romantic vistas set against the backdrop of a 1920s cholera-ridden China is your cup'o'tea, do check it out.'" - JoBlo.com (seriously, that's as bad as it gets at the moment)
Oscar Locks: None
In The Running: Best Actor (Edward Norton), Best Actress (Naomi Watts), Original Score (Alexandre Desplat)
Long Shots: Cinematography (Stuart Dryburgh), Adapted Screenplay (Ron Nyswaner)
Completely Irrelevant Best Picture Odds: 12-1
Why It's Essential: Increasing buzz and its elegant stars make it the must-see movie for The English Patient set.
The Achilles Heel: Somerset Maugham novels have rarely made Oscar-winning movies. Even with Garbo.
The Verdict: The critics' awards will tell the tale...if it picks up momentum, it'll have no trouble leveraging its tony pedigree into multiple nominations. [Modern Fabulousity]
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10 comments:
Hmm... wouldn't it be awesome if Desplat got TWO score nominations this year? What a way to break the snubbage. But unlikely. That doesn't ususally happen to people who aren't John Williams.
I'd still like to hear more about how good Nathaniel thinks Naomi Watts is in this... maybe my aversion to this movie has something to do with how I don't buy her as a brunette...
Garbo was never much of an awards magnet though - she couldn't even win as Camille! Bette Davis was, however, and she was also starring in a Maugham adaptation in 1934, and despite causing a sensation, she didn't even end up with a nomination. So maybe Maugham is indeed a curse. Or Ampas is an ass. One of those things.
If this movie really gathers some steam (it may be too late tho) I could easily see it as a Best Picture contender. As Kris at IC said, it's the sort of picture that Miramax used to get nominated with ease, so maybe it can get in (without the Weinsteins, obviously).
There's periodness in Dreamgirls but other than that it's all modern. The Departed, Little Miss Sunshine, The Queen (well, 1997), Babel, The Pursuit of Happyness... how often does that happen?
watts was a brunette in tank girl & the assassination of richard nixon w/sean penn--though the latter was a small role, as don cheadle's was & the former was...well...tank girl.
i look forward to nat changing his oscar predictions at least slightly before the platform release.
does nat's list of naomi films he likes mean his order is now king kong then mulholland drive?
does the fact that sir laurence olivier did the betsy mean nat wants to take awards away from him that he won for great performances?
(of course i never saw him say anything really great about naomi in his original mulholland dr review--only later.)
nathaniel hates naomi watts. even when she is great in something like 21 grams, he still finds a way to shit all over that.
hi. just poppin' in to see if the house is burning down.
what the hell does "did the betsy" mean? and do I even know that Sir Olivier (overactor alert!) did it. whatever the hell it is.
I haven't a clue.
and my fav Watts performance is still Mulholland Dr. (followed by: painted veil, king kong, i heart huckabees, and tank girl.
good night! er good afternoon. hope y'all are enjoying the guest bloggers.
NATHANIEL
I wish adam k. sees the movie and the performance (not the hair color) first before saying anything negative. How pathetic it's hating a film because the actress is a brunette in it? And then what Nathaniel's comments have to do with your own judgement of a performance or a film? You should it see for yourself.
Hi anonymous,
1) I never said I hated the film. I said I had an "aversion" to it. That's not exactly "hate." And am I not allowed to form feelings based on trailers? I thought trailers existed in order to give people feelings about their films. And as for the hair color thing, I had a similar aversion to Julianne's blonde hair in Freedomland, and I think that aversion was justified. Sometimes dye jobs just don't work, as any good stylist will tell you.
2) What is wrong with taking stock in Nathaniel's opinions? Why exactly are you at his blog if you don't care about anything he says? Plus, I, along with most of the world, won't be able to see this film for a few weeks yet. In the meantime, I'm interested in Nat's reaction.
3) The whole "brunette" thing was obviously a joke anyway. Jesus.
Check out the latest issue of BlackBook magazine if you're interested in The Painted Veil; Norton and Watts do a joint cover and photo spread, both look super-hot and comment on the making of the film.
If you're interested in The Painted Veil, check out the latest issue of BlackBook magazine; Norton and Watts do a joint cover and photo spread, both look super-hot and discuss the making of the film.
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