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December 29, 2006
At the Movies: Watts, Norton enliven grim Maugham adaptation
By DAVID GERMAIN
AP Movie Writer
AP Movie Writer
Like the more successful Merchant-Ivory period dramas, “The Painted Veil” effectively blends highbrow literary pretension with powerful cinematic drama — an evocative, passionate romantic triangle set among Brits living in 1920s China.
| THE PAINTED VEIL |
 Director: John Curran Cast: Naomi Watts, Edward Norton, Liev Schreiber, Toby Jones Rating: PG-13 for some mature sexual situations, partial nudity, disturbing images and brief drug content Running time: 125 minutes |
Much of the story takes place in a village ravaged by a cholera epidemic, not exactly feel-good turf. Yet director John Curran — who also directed “We Don't Live Here Anymore,” a very contemporary drama of betrayal and infidelity — infuses such ardency, that what could have been a phenomenally depressing story emerges as an oddly invigorating and even hopeful one.
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