Cinema - The Painted Veil

John Curran’s 2006 version of Somerset Maugham’s ‘The Painted Veil’ is the third attempt at adapting the story for the big screen. Ryszard Bolesławski tried it successfully in 1934, casting Greta Garbo in the central female role of bored socialite, Kitty. Ronald Neame, less so, in 1957 under the title ‘The Seventh Sin’. Curran’s latest addition is generally considered to have returned to the standards of the first, with Naomi Watts winning praise for her turn in the role of Kitty, opposite Edward Norton as her buttoned up doctor husband, Walter. So why has it held so many filmmakers in its thrall? Whilst it certainly makes for great visuals, the main appeal seems to be in the story’s complex handling of the subtleties of human relationships. Having married Walter in haste to escape from her oppressive parents, Kitty soon finds that she has run straight into another trap - this time a loveless marriage. Seeking solace in the arms of another, Kitty is caught breaking her vows and is issued an ultimatum. Either be issued with divorce papers or join Walter on a near-suicidal mission to a cholera-infested province of rural China. She goes for the latter (self-preservation not being high on the agenda having realised that her married lover will not leave his wife for her). Here, in these inauspicious circumstances, husband and wife make their ‘greatest journey’ towards each other as Walter gets an emotional education and Kitty a moral one. It’s a far cry from the usual Hollywood sentimental gush but all the better for it. ER