1996 British film
The Portrait of a Lady
is a 1996
British
-
American
film directed by
Jane Campion
and adapted by
Laura Jones
from
Henry James
' 1881
novel of the same name
.
The film stars
Nicole Kidman
,
Barbara Hershey
,
John Malkovich
,
Mary-Louise Parker
,
Martin Donovan
,
Shelley Duvall
,
Richard E. Grant
,
Shelley Winters
,
Viggo Mortensen
,
Valentina Cervi
,
Christian Bale
, and
John Gielgud
. It received two nominations at the
69th Academy Awards
:
Best Supporting Actress
(Hershey) and
Best Costume Design
(
Janet Patterson
).
Premise
[
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The film tells the story of Isabel Archer, an innocent young woman of independent means who is manipulated by her "friend" Madame Merle, and the devious Gilbert Osmond.
Plot
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Isabel Archer is a very beautiful woman, who has already rejected many suitors: among them 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 is 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, however, 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's 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's also evident that he's 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 overly protective behavior; she's 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 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 to 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 the girl to flee, but Pansy refuses, saying that she wants to please her father. In the convent, Isabel also encounters Serena, but proudly ignores her attempts to start a conversation. However, in 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 that persuaded the uncle to give Isabel her fortune. On Ralph's deathbed, Isabel tearfully confesses that he's 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 suddenly stops before the house door, and leans against it, looking back into the garden.
Cast
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]
Reception
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]
The Portrait of a Lady
received mixed reviews from critics. It holds a 46% approval rating on
Rotten Tomatoes
based on 72 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."
[4]
On
Metacritic
, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score of 60 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
[5]
Audiences polled by
CinemaScore
gave the film a grade of "B?" on an A+ to F scale.
[6]
The film grossed $3.7 million in the United States and Canada and $20 million worldwide.
[7]
[3]
Accolades
[
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]
Home media
[
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]
On December 11, 2012,
Shout! Factory
released
The Portrait of a Lady: Special Edition
on DVD and Blu-ray.
[19]
See also
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Notes
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References
[
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]
- ^
"The Portrait of a Lady"
.
bfi
. Archived from
the original
on August 24, 2017
. Retrieved
10 October
2022
.
- ^
"The Portrait of a Lady (1996)"
.
BBFC
. Retrieved
8 April
2021
.
- ^
a
b
"International Star Chart".
Screen International
. 5 September 1997. pp. 16?17.
- ^
The Portrait of a Lady
,
Rotten Tomatoes
, retrieved
2022-04-03
- ^
The Portrait of a Lady Reviews
, Metacritic
, retrieved
2022-04-03
- ^
"Home"
.
Cinemascore
. Retrieved
2022-04-03
.
- ^
"The Portrait of a Lady (1996)"
,
Box Office Mojo
- ^
"The 69th Academy Awards (1997) Nominees and Winners"
.
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
.
Archived
from the original on November 9, 2014
. Retrieved
October 23,
2011
.
- ^
"1988-2013 Award Winner Archives"
.
Chicago Film Critics Association
. Retrieved
August 24,
2021
.
- ^
"The Portrait of a Lady - IMDb"
– via www.imdb.com.
- ^
"The Portrait of a Lady ? Golden Globes"
.
HFPA
. Retrieved
July 5,
2021
.
- ^
"The 22nd Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards"
.
Los Angeles Film Critics Association
. Retrieved
July 5,
2021
.
- ^
"Past Awards"
.
National Society of Film Critics
. Retrieved
July 5,
2021
.
- ^
"1996 New York Film Critics Circle Awards"
.
Mubi
. Retrieved
July 5,
2021
.
- ^
"1st Annual Film Awards (1996)"
.
Online Film & Television Association
. Retrieved
May 15,
2021
.
- ^
"1997 Satellite Awards"
.
Satellite Awards
. Retrieved
August 24,
2021
.
- ^
"Past Scripter Awards"
.
USC Scripter Award
. Retrieved
November 8,
2021
.
- ^
"VENICE FILM FESTIVAL ? 1996"
. Retrieved
6 October
2013
.
- ^
"digitallyOBSESSED! Press Release: The Portrait Of A Lady (Special Edition) on Blu-ray Dec 11"
.
www.digitallyobsessed.com
.
External links
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Films directed
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Short films
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Television
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