Review of Good Woman, A

Introduction

"In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it."
From `Lady Windermere`s fan`, by Oscar Wilde

Most of you reading this will probably fall into two tidy, well defined groups; those who think that Victorian playwright Oscar Wilde was a wit, and those who think he was a twit, although replacing the vowel with an `a`. Punished for his homosexuality yet revered for his ability to write plays (possibly before the link was established), Wilde`s work has, since the existence of cinema, been made into countless (unless you go to IMDB and look it up) real films and `television movies`, with varying success.

Adapted from Oscar Wilde`s `Lady Windermere`s Fan`, `A Good Woman` is a film that is unlikely to change anyone`s opinion of Wilde`s work, much less initiate the non believers into his world of high society and decadence.

Helen Hunt stars as Mrs. Erlynne, increasingly renowned 1930s husband stealer and femme fatale. Due to her lifestyle becoming far too common knowledge, she decides to leave her life in New York and set sail for the stunning Amalfi Coast to try her luck on the American and English men that are residing there. Lord and Lady Windermere (Mark Umbers and Scarlett Johansson) are already living in this area of Italy, and rumour starts to circulate that Lord Windermere and Erlynne are having an illicit affair. So, Lady Windermere eventually decides that, her marriage in tatters, she should reciprocate the advances of Lord Darlington (Stephen Campbell Moore).

When Lady Windermere makes the voyage to Darlington`s boat, she is trailed by Erlynne, who wants to protest her own innocence and stop Windermere from making a big mistake, but can she get there in time? Do Oscars s**t in the Wildes?

Video

The overall look of the picture is probably its strongest quality. Making good use of the location and period design, it has more than just a whiff of Fry and Laurie`s superb `Jeeves and Wooster` series from the early nineties. In fact, the whole thing looks like it could have been made for ITV who, lest we forget, might be appalling at everything else, but know how to belt out a good drama - and so such comparisons should be taken as a compliment.

The widescreen presentation is probably what sets it apart from more low budget `jazz age` TV projects, and suits the ambience perfectly throughout.

Audio

The Dolby digital 5.1 sound is adequate, nothing to criticise or scream about, although that is my job, I suppose.

When the opening number - `Who`ll buy an old gold ring` by Lew Stone & His Band - kicks in over white credits on a black background, you`d be forgiven for thinking that you were watching a Woody Allen film. The soundtrack is, as Woody`s often are, a good mix of jazz and classical pieces, evoking the era that it should and, more crucially, providing a well thought-out musical backdrop to the onscreen action.

Features

Certainly not `A Good Selection`; there are no extra features

Conclusion

A great deal of time has obviously been taken in providing realism in terms of costume and settings, and so you wonder why they didn`t take the same care over casting the movie. Hunt, whilst a perfectly passable actress with a half-decent pedigree, simply does not cut the mustard as a sexy, upwardly-nubile older woman. The upshot of this is, whilst the characters are idly gossiping about Lord Windermere leaving his wife (played by the delicious Johansson remember) for this temptress, you wonder why the hell he would ever bother.

Similarly, supposed playboy Lord Darlington is decidedly un-dastardly, rugged or anything that you would expect from someone whose life is supposed to consist of luring young women away for `sexy parties`. He fits somewhere between bumbling and charming, that being the ground that Hugh Grant usually occupies. Yet in both `Bridget Jones` Diary` and `About a Boy`, when Grant actually WAS a Playboy, he approached his role completely differently.

However, it`s not just these two characters that don`t come up two scratch. Neither Lord nor Lady Windermere are particularly engaging, with the only outstanding performance coming from British character actor Tom Wilkinson as Tuppy - the loaded Gent vying for the attentions and engagement of Erlynne, and whose considered persistence is by far the most amiable element of the whole movie.

Killing off the notion that plays brought to the screen are either brilliant or god-awful, `A Good Woman` inhabits the mediocre as naturally as a fox does its den. A great looking picture lacking in realism and any genuine warmth, it`s certainly a DVD that would never demand any repeat viewings.

Watch it once, by all means, but I`ll be waiting here with the inescapable `Told you so` afterwards.