Dr. Walter Fane
Edward Norton
Dr. Walter Fane
The Painted Veil
“Sometimes the greatest journey is the distance between two people.”
7.3
2006
2h 5m
RomanceDrama
Director: John Curran
Overview
A British medical doctor fights a cholera outbreak in a small Chinese village, while also being trapped at home in a loveless marriage to an unfaithful wife.
Trailer
The Painted Veil Trailer
Cast
Kitty Fane
Naomi Watts
Kitty Fane
Charlie Townsend
Liev Schreiber
Charlie Townsend
Mr. Waddington
Toby Jones
Mr. Waddington
Mother Superior
Diana Rigg
Mother Superior
Colonel Yu
Anthony Wong Chau-Sang
Colonel Yu
Wu Lien
Xia Yu
Wu Lien
Dorothy Townsend
Juliet Howland
Dorothy Townsend
Geoffrey Denison
Ian Renwick
Geoffrey Denison
Te-Ming
Li Bin
Te-Ming
Leona
Zoe Telford
Leona
Sister St. Joseph
Marie-Laure Descoureaux
Sister St. Joseph
Reviews
Peter McGinn
This movie seemed vaguely familiar to my wife like we had seen it before, but it all seemed new to me when we recently watched it. We both enjoyed it. I wasn’t concerned when a few reviews remarked that it moved slowly, as we have always appreciated movies that build a quiet story carefully, and mostly this one did that. My only criticism is that at the outset of the movie, I didn’t quite believe that Walter was in love with Kitty. He said he was, but I wonder if a scene or two showing him falling for her ended up on the cutting room floor. He merely seemed to stalk her around the party and want to marry her before he left for China. Similarly, Kitty falling for Charlie didn’t seem well constructed. It felt like one scene they stared at each other, flirted a bit, and the next scene they are in bed. But once I suspended that bit of disbelief, the film was great. Gradually Kitty develops as a character, and her marriage begins to be rebuilt from the rubble of her earlier actions. The final scene, a few years after the action in the bulk of the movie, brings the story full circle in a satisfying manner. All around a fine movie well worth watching patiently.
Read full reviewbadelf
I enjoyed this film a good more than I expected I would, based on the poor critical response and so-so viewer scores. Fortunately, Norton and Watts saved the film by turning in phenomenal performances. The real problem is that we never get totally invested in the characters. Nevertheless, The Painted Veil is a real love story.
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