The Wings of the Dove (1997)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Iain Softley

Writers:

Henry James (novel)
Hossein Amini (screenplay)

Release Date:

7 November 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A couple with everything but money. An heiress with everything but love. A temptation no one could resist.

Plot:

An impoverished woman who has been forced to choose between a privileged life with her wealthy aunt and her journalist lover, befriends an American heiress. When she discovers the heiress is attracted to her own lover and is dying, she sees a chance to have both the privileged life she cannot give up and the lover she cannot live without.

Plot Keywords:

Aunt | Journalist | Heiress | Marriage | Wealth

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 16 wins & 17 nominations

Cast

Helena Bonham Carter	...	Kate Croy
Linus Roache	...	Merton Densher
Alison Elliott	...	Millie Theale
Charlotte Rampling	...	Aunt Maude
Elizabeth McGovern	...	Susan 'Susie' Stringham
Michael Gambon	...	Lionel Croy, Kate's Father
Alex Jennings	...	Lord Mark
Ben Miles	...	First Journalist
Philip Wright	...	Second Journalist
Alexander John	...	Butler
Shirley Chantrell	...	Opium Den Lady
Diana Kent	...	Merton's Party Companion
Georgio Serafini	...	Eugenio
Rachele Crisafulli	...	Concierge

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality.

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Rankcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:14A (Ontario) | Iceland:L | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Singapore:R(A) | Belgium:KT | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:6 | Japan:R | Mexico:B | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #35341)

Filming Locations:

Brompton Cemetery, Fulham Road, West Brompton, London, England, UK

Company:

Miramax Films

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The tile pattern on the Underground stations the train passes through at the beginning of the film are identical in pattern and color for each station. Each station on the Piccadilly line had it's own tile pattern and color scheme so that the illiterate could still recognize their station without needing to read the station name.

Quotes:

Merton Densher: I don't believe in any of the things I write about. I fake passion. I fake conviction.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Venice Report (1997) (TV)

Incredible.

The Wings of the Dove is an incredible film.

Helena Bonham Carter performs her role with nuances of visage and body, and in particular eyebrow, which capture the essence of Kate's manipulation and longing. Everyone performs well.

The cinematography is some of the most beautiful I have ever seen on film--it ranks near Vertigo as one of a few films which breach entertainment and are masterpieces of art. The Venetian and Edwardian locales never cease to fascinate and titilate the viewer. The final sequence represents graphically the vacuity which has enveloped Kate and her love with haunting realism.

Do not watch the film to be "entertained"--it depresses with little reserve and wrenches the heart. Let the music, camera, and Bonham Carter sweep you into the magic of this cinematic masterpiece.