(rated R, 134 mins.)
A weaving of dangerous liaisons provides the backdrop for this period drama set in turn-of-the-century England, beginning with Charlotte (Uma Thurman) and her Italian lover, Prince Amerigo (Jeremy Northam). When the prince, who turns out to be not so princely, marries Maggie (Kate Beckinsale), an American heiress, Charlotte weds Maggie’s father, art collector Adam Verver (Nick Nolte). Meanwhile, Maggie and Adam have their own secret connivance, and on hand to witness the double intrigue is Fanny (Angelica Huston). A fan of British films (and certainly the master team Merchant-Ivory); when the two pull it off (as they did with “Howard’s End” or to a lesser extent “The Remains Of the Day”), Ivory is being rescued by actors so extraordinary that they don’t give him any bad takes to work with. Unfortunately, the joining of Thurman, Nolte and Huston makes for actors who can go seriously awry without firm and sensitive direction. Coupled with Ivory’s haughty airs makes him under-equipped to steer them.
