The Wings of the Dove

Reviewed by Vickie, Cinema Geek

Vick's Rating:

= There's two hours of my life I'll never see again. Is it too late to ask for my money back?
= They could have done SO much better. Wait for the video.
= Not bad at all. Some solid work.
= Wow! I'm very impressed. I might go see this one again.
= For the love of all that is good and kind in the world, what an amazing movie!!!

Directed by Iain Softley

Cast (in credits order):
Helena Bonham Carter.....Kate
Linus Roache.....Merton Densher
Alison Elliott.....Millie
Elizabeth McGovern.....Susan
Charlotte Rampling.....Aunt Maud

If you take a deep breath, you can actually smell it. Oscar Season. It usually begins sometime in October and takes filmgoers through the beginning of January. You can tell it's Oscar Season by the number of Films in theaters. They're the ones by Important Directors, starring Serious Actors in Award-winning Roles. It's a wonderful time of year for cinephiles like me because, along with the big-budget epics and powerhouse performance pieces, films like "The Wings of the Dove" can sneak in and steal your heart.

Based on a novel by Henry James, "Wings" has a simple enough premise: Kate (Helena Bonham Carter) wants to secure her status in pre-WWI society without having to rely on her wealthy-but-domineering aunt (Charlotte Rampling), but Merton (Linus Roache), the love of her life, is just an average Joe and far from rich. Bummer. To add insult to injury, if she decides to marry Merton, she will be disowned by said aunt and left penniless.

Enter ailing American heiress Millie (Alison Elliott), who has an eye for Merton and who's quickly becoming close friends with Kate. Kate's idea? Have Merton romance the terminally ill Millie, marry her and, once she's passed on, inherit her millions, marry Kate and live happily ever after.

Ah, if only it were that simple.

Complications arise when both Kate and Merton begin to second-guess their plan which, by the way, is not nearly as sinister as it sounds. While their goal is financial stability, both Kate and Merton love Millie and neither one wants to hurt her. In Kate's eyes, she's doing Millie a favor by giving her what she so desires -- Merton's love -- and providing her with happiness in her final days. An initially reluctant Merton, on the other hand, begins to see Millie as more than just a walking dollar sign and Millie, meanwhile, loves them both back even though she is aware of what is happening and what the pair is doing.

Expertly crafted by director Iain Softley, "The Wings of the Dove" is a beautifully photographed, wonderfully acted and damn haunting film. Slow-moving but evenly paced, it's an intelligent look at love in the face of both physical and financial hardship.

The performances are first rate. Helena Bonham Carter does a magnificent job as the insecure Kate. Her character is constantly shifting in tone-- one minute she's got her mind on the money, the next she's devastated by the news of Millie's illness -- and Carter brings each to the surface with such a subtle touch that the sincerity of her emotions is never questioned. Linus Roache (of "Priest" fame) could easily become the next Ralph Fiennes or David O'Hara, with women already swooning over his work here. Merton, like Kate, is more complex than he seems and Roache allows us to read his feelings on his face.

The film's standout, though, is Alison Elliott. Last seen as the ex-con turned diner waitress in "The Spitfire Grill," Elliott is radiant as the doomed but utterly charming central figure in this bizarre love triangle. She never plays the part for pity -- Millie may be dying but she's going to live life to the fullest for as long as she can. The role could have become a martyred cliché in less capable hands, but Elliott does a superb job and makes Millie, for me anyway, the most interesting character of the lot.

As I mentioned, the film is haunting and I can't quite put my finger on why. Maybe because of the brown and grey settings in rain-soaked Venice, or because of the tragic nature of the characters, or because of the film's overall somber tone. Whatever the reason, "The Wings of the Dove" is one of those movies that sits with you for a while after you've seen it. The kind of movie that leaves you wanting more, or longing for things to have turned out differently or, better still, wanting to see it again. And, I suppose, that's what the studios and Oscar voters like to see.

Vick's Video Picks

Okay, so you've seen "The Wings of the Dove" and now you're craving more of the same. Enough space aliens and presidents in danger, you want your corsets and unrequited love and British accents and you want them now. Well, if A&E isn't running anything that strikes your fancy, you might want to try one of these:

Unrequited love is taken to heart-wrenching proportions in "The Remains of the Day," a Merchant-Ivory production about repressed feelings between a stuffy butler (Anthony Hopkins) and a kind-hearted housekeeper (the always- brilliant Emma Thompson). Both actors are wonderful as two characters desperate for love but utterly terrified of pursuing it.

On a slightly lighter note, "Impromptu" tells the true story of the love between writer George Sand (the always- brilliant Judy Davis) and composer Frederic Chopin (Hugh Grant). It features a cast of period-film staples, including Ms. Thompson, and is one of my personal favorites.

Romance of an even-lighter-still sort turns up in "Emma," the recent big-screen adaptation of Jane's Austen's story about a meddlesome but endearing young woman (the always- brilliant Gwyneth Paltrow) who's so busy matchmaking for her friends that her own love life gets left in the dust. Co-starring Toni Collette, Ewan McGregor, Jeremy Northam and the mother-daughter team of Sophie Thompson and Phydilla Law, who pick up the slack for their absent sister/daughter, Emma Thompson.

It is a complete coincidence, but not an unhappy one, that Emma Thompson is featured in all of those selections. So there.

Vickie, a self-confessed movie addict, has spent the last few years working at an entertainment magazine in Canada. When she's not toiling away at her computer in the office, she's toiling away at her computer at home-- hacking away at unfinished screenplays and planning her acceptance speech for the Academy Awards.