• Review Index
  • About Me
  • Suggestions

vinnieh

~ Movie reviews and anything else that comes to mind

vinnieh

Daily Archives: June 10, 2016

The Wings of the Dove

10 Friday Jun 2016

Posted by vinnieh in Movie Reviews

≈ 21 Comments

Tags

1990's, Alison Elliott, Charlotte Rampling, Elizabeth McGovern, Helena Bonham Carter, Iain Softley, Linus Roache, Michael Gambon, Period Drama, Romance, The Wings of the Dove

Film Title

The Wings of the Dove

Director

Iain Softley

Starring

  • Helena Bonham Carter as Kate Croy
  • Alison Elliott as Milly Theale
  • Linus Roache as Merton Densher
  • Elizabeth McGovern as Susan
  • Charlotte Rampling as Aunt Maude
  • Michael Gambon as Lionel Croy

A passionate yet dark-hearted film about social status, friendship and a nefarious scheme, The Wings of the Dove successfully transports the novel of Henry James to a complex motion picture that is lovely to look at in terms of cinematography and engaging in a subtle way because of the characters in it and the convincing work from the cast in embodying them.

The year is 1910 and in London, Kate Croy is a woman with a tenuous foothold in society. The Wings of the Dove PosterAs the daughter of a now deceased mother, who was socially prominent but threw it away to be with Kate’s opium addicted father, Kate now has to rely on her unsmiling and severe Aunt Maude. Maude is a stern women who wants Kate to marry well and thus secure her return to the riches of society. But Kate is in fact in love with Merton Densher, a penniless journalist. Their love is forbidden and not deemed acceptable because if Kate were to marry him she would lose her inheritance and her chance of returning to high society. This is a fact Maude reminds spirited Kate of when she threatens to stop her inheritance if she doesn’t break off the relationship with Merton. Kate, under duress breaks off the relationship for a while as she attempts to find ways to ensure her survival. The arrival of beautiful and amiable American heiress Milly starts a friendship between Kate and her, as both women scoff at the machinations of society and how everyone is caught up in them. After overhearing someone discuss that the seemingly vivacious Milly is in fact dying, the wheels in Kate’s head start spinning as a plan begins to formulate in her mind. If she were to push Merton onto the beatific Milly, as it is obvious that the American heiress has feelings for him, she could very well leave her large fortune to him. If this were to happen, then Merton would have enough money to marry Kate and she could once more have the social status she so desires, without the stipulations and watchful eye of her spiteful Aunt Maude. Milly The Wings of the DoveMerton is shocked by Kate’s plan, but goes along as he doesn’t want to be without her. The intelligent Kate sets the plan in motion once she, Millie and Merton go on holiday to Venice, despite her own doubts which she keeps hidden of ripping apart the friendship with Milly and ruining her lover in Merton. Yet the plan was never going to go smoothly and that is exactly the course that it runs. The whole scheme involving Milly is ultimately fatally compromised by the genuine attraction and love that Merton begins to feel for her, that Kate begins to see and becomes jealous of as it wasn’t part of the scheme of hers. What she believed was a well thought out plan to ensure she would retain love and money becomes dangerous and highly personal, the likes of which none of them will come out unscathed.

Iain Softley excellently mounts this film by refusing to give into the demand for over the top drama. He immerses us in the world of the 1910’s that James clearly held more than a little disdain for, where everything was beneath the surface, money seemed to be everything and what is most shocking is hinted at rather than shown. I really liked the way Softley used this technique of having a deeper sense of ambiguity about the characters as it got me to think more about them and it didn’t render them just cardboard cut out characters you would expect to see in a period drama/romance. Kate and MertonThese characters become interesting and engaging throughout, with added complexity added by an intelligently structured and observant screenplay from Hossein Amini. Both Softley’s direction and Amini’s screenplay are in no rush to tell The Wings of the Dove’s story, but that gives it even more depth as we gradually see the changing events involving the trio of main characters and don’t feel shortchanged that parts seemed lacking. The characters in themselves are wholly intriguing, especially Kate who manages to be at once cold-blooded in her desire to have the man she wants and the money, yet also be strangely heartbreaking in the levels she goes to ensure this, which include manipulating a friend she has come to hold dear. Some may scoff at the deliberate pace employed during the piece; but in my book it lends The Wings of the Dove a welcome change from in your face theatrics and instead sheds light on the subtle machinations and plots going on that are gradually revealed. And on the visual front, The Wings of the Dove is a spellbinding watch, thanks to the sensual yet moody cinematography of Eduardo Serra, that lenses London and most successfully Venice. As the story moves on the colour palette darkens and subdued blues and purples fill the screen, functioning as a metaphor for the sadness and tragedy that will arise due to Kate’s plan. I can’t think of the last time I saw Venice look so spectacular on film. And combined with a sweeping score, that captures the inevitable melancholy the scheme will bring, on a visual and sonic level ( as well as acted and written), The Wings of the Dove practically soars.

In the complex lead role of passionate yet calculating Kate Croy, who sets the events of the story in motion, Helena Bonham Carter gives one of her best performances. Helena Bonham Carter as Kate CroyIt’s a performance of excellent subtlety and layers; Bonham Carter makes Kate have a desperation and that leads to her manipulative nature coming into full force to successfully execute her plot to gain both the love of her life and financial security, along with continued status. Helena Bonham Carter knows better than to give into the temptation to make Kate truly despicable and effectively sidesteps this path by imbuing her with depth, doubt, a sense of lingering guilt and jealousy to Kate as her plan comes crashing down around her. I can’t imagine anyone else playing the part of Kate quite as well because Helena Bonham Carter gives her all to the part and emerges with a multi-dimensional portrayal. As the radiant but ailing Milly, Alison Elliott portrays her as a woman determined to live while she still can and is filled with deep love. Rather than a saintly victim, Elliott wonderfully shows that Milly is no naive woman but one that wants to see the good in things until her pain becomes unbearable. In the role of Kate’s lover Merton, Linus Roache exerts a cynical viewpoint that slowly becomes haunted and changed once he falls in love with the dying Milly. Merton The Wings of the DoveRoache makes up the third part of the compromised love triangle of the story and more than holds his own against Bonham Carter and Elliott. On the supporting front, Elizabeth McGovern gives an elegance to Milly’s companion Susan who could have been a forgettable character but remains memorable here. An imperious Charlotte Rampling has the right authority and nastiness to portray Aunt Maude, whose cruelty and deceptions is what leads Kate to follow in a similar suit. The only real actor wasted in this film is Michael Gambon who is given the thankless role of Kate’s opium fiend father that doesn’t require him to do a lot.

An excellently crafted rendering of the Henry James novel that makes the characters all complex and the events have a sense of slowly unfurling tragedy, The Wings of the Dove is intelligent and sophisticated film making that favours subtlety and implication rather than over the top and unrealistic histrionics. And if nothing else, The Wings of the Dove deserves showers of praise for the trio of central performances, particularly the one from Helena Bonham Carter.

Subscribe

  • Entries (RSS)
  • Comments (RSS)

Archives

  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012

Categories

  • 007 thoughts and reviews
  • Adventures of Satrap
  • Announcements
  • Awards and Achievements
  • Birthdays and Tributes
  • Blogging Community
  • Blogging Questions
  • Creepy
  • Gif Posts
  • Humour
  • Movie and Television Trivia
  • Movie opinions and thoughts
  • Movie Reviews
  • Music reviews and opinions
  • Photography Discussion
  • Rest In Peace
  • Sport
  • Television Opinions
  • Television Reviews
  • Uncategorized

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
June 2016
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
27282930  
« May   Jul »

Tags

007 1940's 1950's 1960's 1970's 1980's 1990's 2000's 2010's Action Adventure Announcement Based on a true story Bernard Lee Bette Davis Birthday Blogs You Should Follow Cate Blanchett Comedy Crime Desmond Llewelyn Disney Drama Fantasy Foreign Language Film Gillian Anderson Halle Berry Happy Birthday Horror James Bond Judi Dench Julianne Moore Julia Roberts Liebster Award Lois Maxwell Madonna Maggie Smith Matthew Fox Meryl Streep Music Musical Mystery Natalie Portman Neve Campbell Period Drama Psychological Horror Psychological Thriller Rest In Peace Romance Romantic Comedy Science Fiction Spy Supernatural Horror Thriller

Top Posts & Pages

Lyric Analysis - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Kylie Minogue: Where the Wild Roses Grow
Dangerous Beauty
Hope Floats
Charmed Season 8
The Stud
Party of Five Season 5
The Babysitter
Gilda
The Big Chill
Desperate Housewives Season 7
Follow vinnieh on WordPress.com

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • vinnieh
    • Join 3,769 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • vinnieh
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...