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The Painted Veil. The name alone will make most guys shudder at the thought of seeing this with their female movie companions. The title invokes images of long, drawn out emoting. Scenes so lavished with longing that you need ESPN injected straight into your spine to even make it back to your car. But when you hear it has the chick from King Kong plus Ed Norton, Mr. American History X himself you think this may be doable after all. Ok, now that I have all the gender related stereotypes out of the way let me just say that though this movie is greatly written and perfectly acted by all involved, there was still something about it that left me, well, with a little longing of my own.

Set in the 1920's The Painted Veil tells the story of Walter Fane (Ed Norton) a bacteriologist who journeys to the Far East to study and possibly
help find a cure for an extreme Cholera outbreak. Kitty (Naomi Watts), his wife by title and document alone, accompanies him despite her personal choice to stay home in her London luxury. Walter is devoted to his work above all else and when this drives Kitty into the arms of another man Walter uses this trip as a sort of punishment to her for her sins. While in China they both discover something about themselves and each other making this a unique love story at its core.

Based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham and a remake of the 1934 film of the same name, this version has all the elements of fantastic movie making. The look is fabulous against the '20's China backdrop. The music is perfect for an arty period piece. As mentioned the entire cast deliver emotion in award winning style. Yet there is something about it that left me sort of ho-hum. At times I felt that it stayed at one level for extended periods. The middle section faltering a few times before the climax of the finale moments. And this lost my attention. Not enough to make this a bad movie just not one I would sit through again. Even though I normally prefer arty chick flicks, possibly my guy genes were in too high a gear. 

Rated PG-13 for some mature sexual situations, partial nudity, disturbing images and brief drug content, The Painted Veil is not overly adult. It has elements of adultery and all of the issues that go along with that. The love scenes are not gratuitous and fit the style perfectly. I give it 3 out of 5 infectious diseases. But ladies, I believe you will think me completely wrong and I recommend you see this one. Just know before you go, I'm Matt Mungle

The Mungle (12/26/06)

Matt is a member of the North Texas Film Critics Association (NTFCA) and hosts the weekly syndicated Indie Rock Radio Show Spin 180. Plus with his wife Cindy they do a weekly radio feature, The Mungles on Movies. For additional reviews and interview clips visit the website www.mungleshow.com"