The Portrait of a Lady

REVIEW
Director Campion's adaptation of Henry James' 19th-century novel opens with a black screen accompanied by voiceovers of modern young women talking about love and sex. Right away, we know that Campion has more in mind than a straightforward read on James' tale of the willful young American Isabel Archer, a woman who sets out to rise above the conventions of her day only to suffer at the hands of her own naïveté. Having rejected two suitable suitors on the grounds of wanting to explore life, Isabel sets out on a transcontinental trek only to embrace the advances of slithering malcontent Gilbert Osmand (Malkovich). Kidman is at once compelling and enigmatic, but Malkovich's performance is tired. Hershey is outstanding as Madame Serena Merle, a dangerously alluring friend of Osmand's, and Donovan is excellent as Isabel's consumptive cousin.