Jane Campion
Ritratto Di Signora

Jane Campion - Portrait of a Lady

Hello everyone, this is my first review and I would like to talk to you about Portrait of a Lady by Jane Campion, a beautiful film that is too underrated even by cinephiles themselves, released in 1996 starring a very young Nicole Kidman in the most challenging role of her career.

Based on the masterpiece of the same name by Henry James, the story tells of a young beautiful American named Isabel Archer who, having been orphaned in 1873, goes to old England to stay with a wealthy aunt. Isabel Archer soon becomes the center of thought for an entire community of men who would do anything to have her, but her spirit of independence, so unusual for a woman of the time, leads her to refuse very advantageous marriage proposals, only to fall victim to a scheme by Gilbert Osmond, a cynical and opportunistic man who skillfully manages to marry her purely for financial gain.

The film takes us into the complex world of the rich bourgeoisie at the end of the 19th century and analyzes with surgical precision the decay of values in a strongly classist society. The protagonist, from a girl full of enthusiasm and curiosity about the things of the world, is gradually shaped by the people around her and becomes part of the system as well, unhappy, cold, and calculating, until towards the end a sad piece of news opens up what might be her last chance for redemption...

I have deliberately omitted many details about the plot to avoid spoiling the viewing experience for those who haven't seen the film yet, but I want to focus on some aspects of the work done by Jane Campion: the aesthetic beauty that this work emanates from start to finish, the cinematography, and the choice of music reach a very high qualitative level, and the screenplay is extremely refined but even more extraordinary is the work done with the actors. Kidman, Mortensen, Malkovich, Hershey, Gielgud, and above all Donovan in the role of cousin Ralph are in a state of grace, and Campion takes great advantage of this with great intelligence.

A final curious note: despite being a period film, during the opening credits, Campion shows us a series of close-ups of women of our time; young girls of different cultures who serenely smile in front of the camera, perhaps Isabel's Portrait of a Lady is also their portrait...