The Wings of the Dove Movie Review
From Backbeat to Hackers to The Wings of the Dove may seem like a psychological stretch for director Iain Softley, but all three of his films focus on characters that are ahead of their time, perhaps too many steps ahead for their own good. Kate (Helena Bonham Carter) has the perfectly sensible idea of transforming her lover Merton Densher (Linus Roache) from the poor writer he is into the rich widower he will be if he marries her dying friend Millie (Alison Elliott). Well, it seems like a perfectly sensible idea to Kate in theory, but it evolves into shattering reality when she and Merton and Millie play their assigned roles. Everything goes like clock-work—everything, that is, but the unpredictability of passion. The Wings of the Dove is based on Henry James’ 1902 novel and updated a bit to the year 1910. Kate's perspective has been twisted by living with her opium-ridden father (Michael Gambon) and being used as a social pawn by her Aunt Maud (Charlotte Rampling). Merton is weak and not particularly interesting except as a blank canvas on which imaginative young women like Kate and Millie can create romantic fantasies. And the radiant Millie is too good to live. That's it, except that the acting throughout is splendid, the production is handsome, and the running time (101 minutes) is manageable. Betcha that the underused Gambon and Elizabeth McGovern had a lot of time for sightseeing in Venice.
1997 (R) 101m/C GB Helena Bonham Carter, Linus Roache, Alison Elliott, Elizabeth McGovern, Charlotte Rampling, Alex Jennings, Michael Gambon; D: Iain Softley; W: Hossein Amini; C: Eduardo Serra; M: Gabriel Yared. British Academy Awards ‘97: Best Cinematography, Best Makeup; Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards ‘97: Best Actress (Bonham Carter); National Board of Review Awards ‘97: Best Actress (Bonham Carter); Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards ‘97: Best Actress (Bonham Carter); Nominations: Academy Awards ‘97: Best Actress (Bonham Carter), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design; British Academy Awards ‘97: Best Actress (Bonham Carter), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design; Golden Globe Awards ‘98: Best Actress—Drama (Bonham Carter); Screen Actors Guild Award ‘97: Best Actress (Bonham Carter), Best Supporting Actress (Elliott); Writers Guild of America ‘97: Best Adapted Screenplay. VHS, LV, Closed Caption