THE WINGS OF THE DOVE (Miramax) Starring: Helena Bonham Carter, Linus Roache, Alison Elliott, Alex Jennings, Elizabeth McGovern, Charlotte Rampling. Screenplay: Hossein Amini, based on the novel by Henry James. Producers: Stephen Evans and David Parfitt. Director: Iain Softley. MPAA Rating: R (sexual situations, nudity) Running Time: 101 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.
From beneath broad-brimmed hats, the dark eyes of Helena Bonham Carter burn with primal ferocity in THE WINGS OF THE DOVE; behind veils of lace, her mind ponders decidedly un-ladylike thoughts. Carter's body of film work, including noteworthy roles in A ROOM WITH A VIEW, HOWARDS END, WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD and TWELFTH NIGHT, might lead you to suspect she was born wearing a corset. It also makes WINGS a particularly intriguing addition to her resume. Like most of her previous films, this one is a costume drama based on a classic novel (by Henry James). This time, however, Carter creates a character who prowls through every scene as though she may tear off that corset at any moment with a howl of rage against the social order.
Eventually she does remove the offending garment (more on which momentarily), but the preceding moments build with a powerful sense of anticipation. Carter plays Kate Croy, a young turn-of-the-century Englishwoman of minimal means taken in by her wealthy Aunt Maude (Charlotte Rampling). Maude has plans for her neice's future, plans which do not include a poor husband like Kate's beloved, journalist Merton Densher (Linus Roache). Faced with choosing between her patron and her heart, Kate discovers another alternative when she befriends American heiress Millie Theale (Alison Elliott). The terminally ill Millie has eyes for Merton, which Kate sees as a perfect opportunity: if Merton can woo his way into Millie's will, Kate and Merton could eventually marry after all.
At the heart of this convoluted romantic triangle is author Henry James' fascination with the differences between English and American society. For Kate, wealth means obligatory membership in a stratified social system which has become a farce by 1910, with landed gentlemen like Lord Mark (Alex Jennings) reduced to fortune-hunting to stave off insolvency; for activist writer Merton, wealth is an arbitrary dividing line separating him from his object of desire. When Millie enters their lives, both are confronted with challenges to their assumptions. Though wealthy, Millie is kind and never condescending, nor is she restricted by social mandates. While Kate envies Millie's freedom, Merton begins to realize that Kate's actions are the result of her choices, not an inevitable by-product of money.
Those tense interpersonal dynamics are rendered with impressive economy in Hossein Amini's screenplay. THE WINGS OF THE DOVE comes in at under an hour and 45 minutes, a remarkable achievement for a literary adaptation made even more remarkable by the richness of the characterizations. The requisite sumptuous production values are all in place (notably John Beard's spectacular production design), yet THE WINGS OF THE DOVE never once sacrifices focus on the characters for fetishistic period detail. Merton's background is less focused than the rest, but Linus Roache creates a convincing portrait of torn loyalties; as Millie, Alison Elliott plays the doomed Millie with a tenderness of spirit which never lapses into cinematic sainthood.
Both Roache and Elliott are strong, but Helena Bonham Carter is a powerhouse. Her performance pulses with resentment and rationalized deviousness, captured by Iain Softley in direction which holds on her face whenever possible. The potentially unsympathetic character of Kate becomes a tragic figure who feels forced into plotting for her most basic happiness. In the film's climactic scene, Kate attempts to win back Merton's affections by stripping naked in front of him, an achingly desperate seduction by a desperate woman. Carter shows plenty of nerve (and plenty of skin) in that scene, but she also shows a range few of her previous characters have required. Freeing herself from the broad-brimmed hats, veils of lace and, yes, even her corset, Helena Bonham Carter exposes a tortured soul struggling to break free of roles dictated by costume. How very fitting.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 soaring doves: 9.
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