 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
The Painted Veil
- Review Date: May 6, 2007
- PG-13
- Genre: Drama
- 2006
Common Sense Media says
Well-acted period drama is lush and haunting.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this drama based on a 1925 novel isn't for most kids, despite its PG-13 rating. It's a serious, often painful contemplation of marriage under duress, featuring angry arguments as well as images of suffering cholera patients. Sexual intimacy includes one early, awkward scene in which a young bride invites her husband to her bed (he's embarrassed) and a couple of adulterous situations (a couple in bed, hiding from the jilted husband), as well as a couple of drunken scenes (in one, a white British man admires his much younger Chinese girlfriend; in another, a married couple has sex, with brief shots of naked bottoms and thighs). Characters drink, and couple of supporting players smoke cigarettes.
What's the story?
Based on a 1925 W. Somerset Maugham novel, THE PAINTED VEIL tracks the troubled marriage of Kitty (Naomi Watts) and Walter (Edward Norton). For Kitty, Walter is a means to escape her family's depressing expectations -- her mother (Maggie Steed) dotes on Kitty's sister while fully expecting the spoiled Kitty to dwindle into deserved spinsterhood. And so, when Walter, a bacteriologist, awkwardly proposes, Kitty says yes. The decision takes her about as far away from her mother, to Shanghai. Here she learns that Walter is a dedicated researcher and poor companion. To escape her disappointing situation, Kitty has an affair with British vice consul Charles Townsend (Liev Schreiber), which only makes her lonelier. When Walter discovers the affair, his revenge is insidious: He forces her to accompany him to a cholera-besieged village. Like Kitty, Walter is a selfish, angry individual who sees himself reflected in every aspect of his world. Projecting onto Kitty his own needs and desires, he goes on to do the same with his work.
Is it any good?
The Painted Veil is the sort of movie-star vehicle that usually provides for outsized, capital "A" Acting. But John Curran's version is both lush and intimate, a showcase for subtle performances in which China becomes an "exotic" backdrop for white folks' troubles. While the Chinese characters remain mostly anonymous, either children or suffering disease victims, Kitty and Walter's exclusive self-absorption and lessons in generosity are tied to colonialist culture; they must unlearn their sense of entitlement and privilege.
While the movie alludes to historical events, Kitty and Walter's lessons tend to be on a more intimate scale. She meets Deputy Commissioner Waddington (Toby Jones), who embraces the locals in the usual ways: When Kitty asks what his much younger Manchu lover (Yu Lin) sees in him, he translates the girl's answer: "She says I'm a good man." As Kitty sees no good in men, the observation surprises her, but she begins to see that kindness can be learned.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about how Walter and Kitty end up appreciating each other's strengths and forgiving each other's failings. How do their circumstances -- surrounded by acute suffering -- encourage them to see past themselves and, as a result, see themselves more clearly? What are the movie's themes? Which characters are redeemed, and how? How does it stress the importance of communication (and show the consequences of a lack of communication)? What's lacking in Kitty and Walter's marriage? What makes a marriage good or bad?
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AGE
May be hard for young tweens to really understand
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AGE
Painted Veil
I was surprised by how good this movie was...it has a feel of an old-fashioned Hollywood romance, which isn't such a bad thing. I was entertained the whole way through, and Naomi Watts and Edward Norton are both perfect. Definitely worth seeing.
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AGE
OMG, sooo good
OMG this movie is soo good, incredibly well acted, and such a beautiful story. so sad with hurt, pain, realization and redmption
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| Studio: | Warner Independent |
| Director: | John Curran |
| Cast: | Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Toby Jones |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Run time: | 125 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | December 29, 2006 |
| DVD release date: | May 8, 2007 |
| MPAA rating: | PG-13 |
| MPAA explanation: | some mature sexual situations, partial nudity, disturbing images and brief drug content. |
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