The film

© Kinema Films

The film is based on Somerset Maugham's 1925 novel of the same name. Maugham was a real rule-breaker for his time, and many of his works centre around chance meetings, missed opportunities and the confusion of Europeans in alien surroundings. Likewise, the film adaptation of The Painted Veil doesn't adhere to Hollywood standards either: it's a love story based on a loveless marriage which finally comes right after much heartache and suffering, only to end in tragedy.   

Epic
Edward Norton plays Walter, a young biologist bound for Shanghai who meets and falls in love with Naomi's character Kitty, a beautiful, wealthy and bored young woman living in 1920s high society in London. Under pressure from the corseted, restrictive circles she moves in, Kitty accepts a loveless marriage to Walter. She knows he loves her, though she doesn't love him, and she thinks that's enough. 

China calling
Walter is posted to Shanghai and Kitty is suddenly taken away from everything she knows and plunged into a new life in a dangerous, troubled town in an alien province of China. Lost and out of place, she soon falls head over heels in love with an American displomat (played by Liev Schreiber, Naomi's real-life boyfriend) and has a passionate affair with him. Walter soon finds out and he takes her away to another, worse part of China where he has volunteered to help with the raging cholera epidemic there. But Kitty's punishment has an unexpected outcome, and turns into a spiritual and emotional journey through deepest China and through themselves. Against the stunning backdrop, the love that was never there before starts to blossom. The plot keeps you guessing (and misty-eyes) right to the end, which we won't spoil for you…   

Moving
Naomi really surpasses herself as Kitty: she brings a heartbreaking, nothing-to-lose, lightness of spirit to Kitty in spite of the adversity she faces. Kitty and Walter, played by the extremely talented Edward Norton, make a really convincing couple, and as the plot thickens you really start to believe in their relationship and see it working out, despite everything. It's set at the time when nationalist activity was first starting up in China, which adds another poignant meaning to the film: behind the veil of intense tropical heat, the ricefields and cone-shaped mountains, other important illusions are also being lifted from people's eyes...   

Worth watching?
If you love sweeping, epic plots and stunning scenery, you'll love The Painted Veil. Those who love all things Asian will also appreciate the beautifully-shot mirages and scenery. It's a classic love story played by superb actors which goes far beneath the surface.