The Golden Bowl

Uma Thurman gives a surprisingly natural yet complex performance as a beautiful American expatriate whose heart is thrown into turmoil by a complicated romantic roundelay in this adaptation of Henry James 1904 novel from drawing-room-drama maestros Ismail Merchant and James Ivory. Set at the beginning of the 20th century, the story concerns the entangled lives of Charlotte (Thurman) and her financially-strapped Italian nobleman lover Amerigo (Jeremy Northam), who marries (for money) Thurman's naive best friend Maggie (Kate Beckinsale), the daughter of an American coal tycoon (Nick Nolte). Fragile Maggie isn't to know of her husband's past with her friend, but soon Thurman has arranged her own marriage--to Maggie's father--in an attempt to stay close to him and rekindle the affair. Well-realized characters compliment handsome cinematography, beautiful costumes, and assured art direction--all hallmarks of Merchant-Ivory films--and even though the waiting-for-the-other-shoe-to-drop last act needed shoring up, this minor shortcoming doesn't much detract from a talented cast bringing the characters' complex hearts so vividly to life. Highly recommended. (R. Blackwelder)