The difference between Henry James Portrait of a Lady and Jane Campion s version can be summed up in a quick early exchange between the heroine, Isabel Archer, and her failing uncle, Mr. Touchett. In the movie, Isabel responds with those same words, but Nicole Kidman delivers the line with numb, sarcastic self-disgust.
Campion is at it again.
The men in her films are dolts who rob independent women of their spirit. This isn t a political objection but a dramatic one. Campion, it s clear by now, has no aptitude for narrative. Campion and her superb cinematographer, Stuart Dryburgh, paint their stark pictures with colors I ve never seen before. Portrait of a Lady ties with The English Patient as 1996 s most delicious eye-candy.