The Golden Bowl (2000)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

James Ivory

Writers (WGA):

Henry James (novel)
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 September 2000 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

A man marries an heiress for her money even though he is actually in love with her friend.

Plot Keywords:

Italy | Billionaire | Italian | Museum | Love Triangle

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Kate Beckinsale	...	Maggie Verver
James Fox	...	Colonel Bob Assingham
Anjelica Huston	...	Fanny Assingham
Nick Nolte	...	Adam Verver
Jeremy Northam	...	Prince Amerigo
Madeleine Potter	...	Lady Castledean
Uma Thurman	...	Charlotte Stant
Nicholas Day	...	Lord Castledean
Peter Eyre	...	A.R. Jarvis, Shopkeeper
Nickolas Grace	...	Lecturer
Robin Hart	...	Mr. Blint
Daniel Byam Shaw	...	Principino at Five Years
Francesco Giuffrida	...	Duke's Younger Son
Marta Paola Richeldi	...	The Duchess
Rossano Rubicondi	...	Duke's Older Son

Also Known As:

La coupe d'or (France)

MPAA:

Rated R for a sex scene.

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

USA | France | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | Iceland:L | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | France:U | Germany:6 | Netherlands:AL | Norway:7 | Spain:7 | Sweden:7 | UK:12 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Belvoir Castle, Belvoir, Leicestershire, England, UK

Company:

Merchant Ivory Productions

Trivia:

According to costume designer John Bright, Cosprop provided lace and sequined dresses for the principal actresses: 28 outfits for Uma Thurman, 15 for Anjelica Huston and 20 for Kate Beckinsale.

Quotes:

Amerigo: What is it you want from me?
Maggie: I want a happiness without a hole in it! I want the bowl without the crack!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Reflections of Evil (2002)

Soundtrack:

Sarabande

Better than the book, unless you enjoy convoluted phrases that would be incomprehendable were it not for semicolons!!!

OK, so we need Henry James for character exposition. That complements beautifully the wonderful cinematography of all these great castles in England and Italy. Of course, the source of all these riches is alluded to with the real grainy film of the coal miners in AmericanCity. I haven't found yet the line in the novel by Thurman: "But the miners would prefer the train to a museum" when Nolte describes to her how he will buy both sides of the street and the train tracks between in order to build his museum. The reason the language sounds stilted is that much of the dialogue was lifted verbatim from the novel.....what little dialogue there is. And of course, the fascinating 'beasts unleashed' flavor of the sexual intercourse scene is NEVER to be found even alluded to in the novel.

By the way, Edward II is buried in Gloucester Cathedral. That question comes up, but is NEVER answered in the movie, and you THINK it is going to be the little point that breaks up their alibi: "We went to Gloucester Abbey, where there is some king buried, Edward II or Richard II." The acting is superb, the scenery gorgeous and the psychological incest between Nolte and his daughter is discreetly and appropriately exemplified. As HJ says, talking together in the castle gardens, they did indeed resemble husband and wife. The adultery of the other two was almost foreordained.

The social habits of this age when women had no independent means of making a living is underlined. See this in conjunction with "House of Mirth" and you'll thank your lucky stars you live in 2001. As much sexism as still exists in the workplace, we have indeed come a LONG way, Baby!!!! Thurman's sense of imprisonment is palpable, and I wonder how many women went stark raving mad over their dependency, a form of slavery all the more odious for it not being recognized.

I wonder if ALice James had any part in the writing of this novel. After reading this, she must have felt much better about her 'plight'. Although I wish for the maiden ladies of that day, that they might have been able to adopt or have babies without the social stigmas of the time......a great joy in life that shouldn't be linked with the social tyranny of 'catching a man'.

Return to a time when people used their minds for things other than writing better software, as their country and Constitution are taken over by greedy ignorant barbarians intent on destroying the planet. It's a great movie.!!!