Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful film, though I disagree a little with the casting
Review: Its amazing that Jane Campion stays so faithful to the novel, and the movie is every bit as captivating as the book. The end differs slightly but the good thing is that Campion's ending is almost as ambiguous and open to interpretation as James's. This stylized film is wonderfully shot, with the colours, dresses and hairdos reflecting various good and bad times of Isabel's life. I thought Kidman is extra-ordinary as Archer because she captures a good deal of what James took so much pain to describe about Isabel - the nervousness, the quick wit and a sense of wonder about the future, and a slightly frigid attitude (which so many people wrongly blame Kidman for! She has not really played to the gallery until Moulin Rouge and that probably is the reason it took so long for her to win everyone over.). I wished Caspar Goodwood would be more animated and less brooding than Viggo Mortensen. Martin Donovan is good as Ralph, but I felt he hurried through some of his most important sentences (for e.g "I call people rich when .."). Also, when I read the book, I had imagined Osmond would be a lot less physical, though not less malicious, than Malkovich. Its a great film overall, and it's sad that it didn't catch on as much as it should have. It was after all a very difficult story to film (much like the Bostonians) and I guess very few people liked it when it came out since the story always refrains from helping the reader/viewer. It is not like (say) Sense and Sensibility or Little Women where everything is happily resolved in the end.
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Summary: This Portrait is The Piano's Distant Cousin
Review: Jane Campion did an absolutely superb job in her 1993 Oscar-nominated film The Piano, which starred Holly Hunter as a mute woman sent to marry a man she's never met. That movie is for some reason one of my favorite of all time, despite the fact that I personally don't like romance movies or their equivalent, "chick flicks." After seeing this movie you tend to think there may be no such thing. Jane Campion has done another great film here, although not as good as the Piano, gets a pretty high mark on its own as a different, brilliant film. Nicole Kidman stars as Henry James' headstrong character, Isabel Archer, an American woman who moves to England to live with her rich uncle (Sir John Gielgud) and aunt (Shelley Winters), while at this time in her life is desperate to find true love and marry. After her uncle dies, he leaves her a fortune in his will. Isabel, now being the rich woman she is, marries the monstrous Gilbert Osmond (John Malkovich), who turns her life from pleasant to perhaps utter unhappiness, all at the hand of Madame Merle (Barbara Hershey--who was nominated for best supporting actress). The movie surely plays as a "Dangerous Liaisons" from the victim's point of view, although the film is much more than that. For one, this movie is a lot better. Secondly, the villians are far more monstrous than revengeful, and finally this movie is just plain more interesting. A flaw in this movie is its slowness, although if you allow yourself to be intrigued by its plot and characters, this tends not to be a problem (at least it wasn't for me). It also depends on how educated you are to enjoy this film, and from my view, a person has to be somewhat to enjoy this movie in the slightest sense. Not to say I'm smarter than everybody else--I had to put the closed captioning on to read what the characters were saying to keep up with the plot. Once again, Campion has scored and proven that yes, even a woman, can make a fantastic motion picture. I think people should give her more credit (not to mention she needs to make more movies) because her talent is truly one that should be noted. The DVD pretty much blows as you can tell if you read the techno-info, but a widescreen version of the film (a 2.35:1 non-anamorphic transfer) will at least let you see the movie in all its splendor.
Rating:
Summary: campion has made me one big fan
Review: Jane Campion razzle dazzled me with The Piano. Now, this movie comes along and made me a permanent fan of hers. The acting was of superb quality, especially Malkovich's. It's inspired me so much so that i've decided to read the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Sublime and haunting
Review: Just got this one on DVD (had the VHS copy) and have fallen in love with the film all over again. Without a doubt, this is Nicole Kidman's finest performance. Jane Campion's direction is fascinating. The opening sequence (set in modern day) of all the women talking about being kissed and the haunting score give me chills everytime I watch it. Barbara Hershey is brilliant as the devious Madame Merle. Seeing this in widescreen format with the digital sound is amazing. A must have for any DVD collection.
Rating: 
Summary: Recommended!
Review: Kidman was wonderful as Isabel Archer. Everything was perfect in the movie, except for the ending, which was rather abrupt and confusing.
Rating:
Summary: MALE - ORDERED BRIDE.
Review: NICOLE KIDMAN delicately dominates this superb adaptation of the James novel directed with great sense and feeling by Jane Campion. Yes, it's still another 'view into the life' of the so easily misled [we think....] Victorian lady, but at least there's hope at the end of this one. This one takes us back to a time when women were considered to be 'husband's property' - just another bauble. Same scenario too - wealth, greed, lies, sensuality, violence [that 'discipline scene with Mr. Malkovich!], and yet more lies and finally truth. Barbara Hershey 'shines' as the tortured and initially mysterious Madame Serena [apt name] Merle, a somewhat shady figure - hooking it all together, but it's Nicole Kidman's gradual awakening to the horrors of male dominated marriage that remains with the viewer. Beautifully photographed and costumed, this is a must see and have for the serious collector.
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Summary: Beautifully painful portrayal
Review: Nicole Kidman is convincing. The creation of this imagery of entrapment -- the kind of hell that social relationships can become, of their potentially destructive effects on the human spirit is terrifying and yet, this excellent film is beautifully captured. The plays with light and darkness and Nicole's bright future slowly slides into oblivion. It's a remarkable film.
It might speak to only one gender, however. I found that my male collegues were not so enticed by it. It may be that men have not felt the same domination in relationships that Nicole's character portrays so bravely.
And yet, I wonder. In as much as Shakespeare was right, "men have been deceivers ever," I think the same must be said for both genders. So it might be, that reading to the film, male viewers can identify the entrapment as well.
Embedded in this film is a hidden recipe for how to do a relationship well. For even from those that you learn how not to act, you still have learned.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful!
Review: Nicole Kidman IS Isabel Archer! I don't understand why some reviewers here panned her acting as bad. She has never looked more beautiful than in this film. Her acting is also superb and expressive. This is the story about a young American woman (Isabel) who is just orphaned and is invited to stay with her rich relatives, the Touchetts in Victorian England. While in England, she is wooed by the rich Lord Warburton but she rejects his proposal because she wants to see the world and be free. When her uncle later dies, Isabel inherits a big sum of money and becomes truly rich and "independent". It is actually her cousin, the consumptive Ralph Touchett (who is secretly in love with her) who pressed his father to leave the money to Isabel without Isabel's knowledge. By this time, Isabel has met the scheming and mysterious Madame Merle (who plays Schubert on the piano most beautifully, I must add). M. Merle introduces Isabel to "her friend", Gilbert Osmond, a poor and widowed American staying in Italy who has a young daughter, Pansy. Both M. Merle and Osmond scheme to make Isabel marry Osmond so that he could have her money. Isabel innocently falls into their trap. Despite advice and dissuasions from her relatives, she eagerly marries Osmond and her life after that becomes a true nightmare. There is also a sub-plot involving Pansy's impossible love affair with Ned Rossum (played by Christian Bale). The accompanying booklet of the DVD provides valuable information on the making of the film and the cast profile e.g. the fact that Jane Campion finds this to be her hardest project. From the movie, it is easy to see that she had put in tremendous effort to bring Henry James' classic to life. Every shot, every scene and every movement of the characters is carefully and beautifully directed and filmed. The colors are so rich, the seem to jump out of the screen! And oh, the gorgeous costumes - especially Isabel Archer's! The casting is also perfect - notably, Nicole Kidman and John Malkovich who plays the villain, Osmond. Martin Donovan also embraces the difficult role of "Ralph Touchett" perfectly. My favourite scene is the one nearing the end involving a sobbing, heart-broken Isabel by the bedside of the dying Ralph. It is here that she realizes she loves him. This scene is so tender to watch. To me, this film showcases Nicole Kidman's best performance and it is THIS particular scene that clinches it. I got my copy of the DVD from Amazon.co.uk. If you love period dramas, this is a worthy title to have in your collection. Get the original soundtrack too - the music is absolutely gorgeous and dreamy, and is a fond favourite of mine.
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Summary: NICOLE KIDMAN...TO DIE FOR...BRILLIANT ACTRESS
Review: NICOLE KIDMAN IS TOTALLY UNDERESTIMATED BY THE AMERICAN PUBLIC...SHE IS A BRILLIANT ACTRESS AND CAN MAKE DIFFICULT SCRIPS AND SCENES WORKABLE AND EVEN BEAUTIFUL. SHE OBVIOUSLY PUTS EVERYTHING INTO HER ACTING...AND THE LEVEL OF HER CONTROL AND LETTING GO IS NOT FOUND IN MANY ACTRESSES TODAY. SHE IS ONE OF THE FEW YOUNGER ACTRESSES IN THE FILM INDUSTRY (ALSO KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS AND CATE BLANCHETT...AND ALSO ALL FOREIGNERS!) WHO SHOULD HAVE ALREADY WON AN ACADEMY AWARD. SHE DIDN'T EVEN GET NOMINATED FOR THIS FILM...THAT'S THE NEGATIVE SIDE TO BEING THE WIFE OF TOM CRUISE, PEOPLE DON'T RECOGNIZE YOU FOR YOUR OWN GIFTS AND TALENTS. SHE HONESTLY BREATHES LIFE INTO EACH OF THE CHARACTERS SHE PLAYS AND MAKES THEM SO SIMPLE IN THEIR COMPLEXITY AS SHE WEAVES WITH OTHER CHARACTERS TO MAKE A RICHER STORY. SHE IS A FANTASTIC CHAMELEON AND CHANGES BRILLIANTLY FROM ROLE TO ROLE...A FLAWLESS GEM OF AN ACTRESS! THE MOVIE IS BEAUTIFULLY FILMED WITH GORGEOUS SCENES AND COSTUMES...A BIT SLOW MOVING AT TIMES, BUT I BELIEVE THAT IS BECAUSE JANE CAMPION IS SETTING UP MOOD AND TENSION. FANTASTIC PERFORMANCES BY ALL. I BELIEVE MOST OF THE CONFUSION BY OTHER COMMENTS LEFT ON AMAZON COME FROM THE PROBABABILITY THAT THE DIRECTOR WOULD LIKE THE AUDIENCE AS INDIVIDUALS TO SEEK OUT THEIR OWN MEANING FROM THE ENDING INSTEAD OF SPOONFEEDING THE AUDIENCE WITH A LITERAL "ARMAGEDDON-LIKE, TYPICAL HOLLYWOOD FINALE". UP TO THE CHALLENGE TO REALLY SEE MS. KIDMAN'S ACTING GENIUS YET?!
Rating:
Summary: IN LOVE WITH VALENTINA CERVI
Review: Nicole Kidman surprised me in this role. She is not all glamour. She has a deep acting ability, and while this film was not all that well received by critics or audiences, her performance was stunning. Also beautiful here was the young girl, Valentina Cervi (who is luminous in the film Artemisia) who portrays John Malkovich's daughter. This is based on Henry James's novel of the same title, and Jane Campion (who directed The Piano) delivers a faithful and convincing adaptation.
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