The Golden Bowl [DVD] [2000]

The movie is set against beautiful back-drops with a great love for details. Costumes, furniture, jewellery – everything is splendid and brilliantly recreates the fin de siècle atmosphere.

Concerning the cast, the greatest surprise for me was Nick Nolte, whom I never saw in such a role. He really gave an extraordinary performance as the paternal Maecenas, who is far too much in love with his old paintings than to satisfy the needs of Uma Thurman’s character, a vital, passionate young woman. Jeremy Northam is a convincing, elegant Italian aristocrat and intensely portraits Amerigo’s fight between the growing love for his wife and the charms of Charlotte, the respect for his father-in-law, the tender love for his little son. Uma Thurman is not only wonderful to see, but you can also feel her deep love for the prince and the pain she endures because of the separation.
The DVD provides some really good extra features like interviews with the cast and fully detailed biographies. Jeremy Northam comments he wishes the audiences to get involved in the unfolding of the characters instead of only following the plot and wondering what happens next. Thanks to the extremely talented cast, you get the chance to enjoy both.

Italian Prince Amerigo (Jeremy Northam) is the impoverished owner of Palazzo Ugolini near Rome, unable to maintain the palace until, in 1903, he marries Maggie Verver (Kate Beckinsale), daughter of the first American billionaire, Adam Verver (Nick Nolte). The prince has previously had a secret affair with Charlotte Stant (Uma Thurman), a friend of Maggie. When Charlotte subsequently marries Adam, Maggie's father, both couples move to England, where three years later, Charlotte and Amerigo resume their passion.

The relationships among the four principals are explored with the same sophistication as in James's novel. Maggie's torment is fully revealed when she suspects an affair, and her determination to protect her father from this knowledge becomes an agonizing chore. Numerous symbols help to convey the trauma of the betrayal, from the history of the prince's castle, in which an ancestor found his young wife and his son in bed and executed them, to Maggie's dream of being imprisoned in a porcelain pagoda which has a crack.

Nolte shows surprising subtlety in his emotions as he suspects his wife's treachery, while Uma Thurman is passionate, reckless, and very seductive in her obsession with the prince. Northam explores the prince's character fully, moving from early passion for Charlotte to a more mature awareness of his love and respect for Maggie. Beckinsale, as the ingenuous Maggie, develops maturity and shows remarkable character as she works diligently to protect her marriage and her father. Supporting roles by Angelica Huston and Madeleine Potter further develop the psychological pressures by illustrating the characters' lives within the context of their frenetic, continental lifestyles.

Director James Ivory inserts old kinescope films and newspapers of turn-of-the-century America into the film to illustrate the on-going contrast between life in America and life in Europe, a constant James theme, as Verver builds his new American museum of European treasures. Lovers of Henry James will find this film faithful to James's intents, while those less enamored of his convoluted literary style may be inspired to read him because of the psychological sophistication of this plot--and this film. Mary Whipple