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James Ivory is one of the few directors who can orchestrate a complex script with profound skill and breathtaking results.
He is to film making what James Levine is to the Met Opera.
In this latest oeuvre, we are introduced to a family of exiled Tzarist nobles living in Shanghai in the aftermath of the Russian revolution.
They abhor their impoverished lives in a crumbling tenament existing on memories of a once gilded past.
Interestingly enough there is only a single member of this family who takes the initiative to provide for the family by working in a "dance hall" wherein patrons pay for the pleasure of a dance and an occasional dalliance with any one of the beautiful women employed by the owner of this questionable establishment.
The rest of the family seem unwilling to demean themselves by working as seamstresses, factory workers or perform any menial labor that they deem to be beneath their dignity; or what is left of it. Instead they waste all their time and energy in constant bickering and bemoaning the fact that one of their own has brought shame upon the family name since she virtually works as a prostitute to keep the rest of them alive.
The matriarch of the family was once a celebrated pianist in her own right and gave lessons to the privileged children of their elite society; so it's puzzling as to why she never considers taking this up again, just as there were other women who taught English or did whatever was necessary to survive. it is the encumbered Countess Sophia who single handedly provides the rest of the useless lot with the means to keep food on the table and engage in delusional fantasies about the return of a Tzarist Russia.
Ralph Fiennes gives a decidedly odd performance as a once celebrated American diplomat who lost his sight during a terrorist attack.
It is he who "intuitively" takes notice of the Countess and persuades her to be; for lack of a better description, a virtual "centerpiece" for his posh nightclub that caters to the upper crust society of Shanghai; the fabled "Paris of The East".
The countess is now employed as an aesthetic contrivance who adds a touch of glamor but is nothing more than a glorified hostess; still it's certainly better than being a dance hall prostitute to say the least.
All of these events, by the way, are taking place during WW II with the republican elements of China feuding with the communists for control of the country, while the shadow of an imminent Japanese invasion of Shanghai is looming over them.
The inferences of Mr. Fiennes' finely honed powers of "intuition" are as puzzling as his overall personae and mannerisms, which can only be described as quirky and erratic. The performance is confusing to say the least and his character can only best be described as "eccentric" to put it politely. He also displays a naivetee that is not in keeping with the attributes of a seasoned diplomat.
Ultimately, the impoverished nobles persuade the countess to obtain funds for their escape to Hong Kong, where they believe that life as they once knew it is waiting for them which only underscores the magnitude of their delusions. They take the funds to obtain the necessary papers they will need to emigrate but intend to abandon the countess and essentially kidnap her daughter so that she will not know the "shame" her mother has brought on them.
Natasha Richardson delivers a thoroughly satiating performance which is far more believable than Mr. Fiennes uneven portrayal of a former diplomat turned night club owner.
The plot is certainly viable but lacks the polished cohesion that elucidates the complexities of the storyline.
The overall production is a flawed beauty that only occasionally reveals the high notes with absolute precision.
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Customer Review: Good but a bit slow at times...
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The travails of a Russian Countess in 1930s Shanghai.
It is Shanghai in 1930s where all different sorts of Europeans and Americans established their ways of living inside the ancient Chinese city. The story is about an American middle-aged man who lives in a world inside his head, blind to the world around him. Jackson (Ralph Fiennes) is a former American diplomat who lost his vision. Yes, and yes—in both physical and psychological sense. He had buried his wife and a son after a house fire, and a few years after that, lost his only surviving child in a terrorist bombing incidence that also took away his sight. It is no surprise that the man is in a bitter despair. He becomes a man of lost faith. In his darkness, Jackson obstinately clings to and cultivates a rather esoteric ideal—creating a perfect nightclub. When Jackson meets Sofia Belinsky (Natasha Richardson), a Russian Countess who is forced to work dishonorable jobs to support her dead husband's family and her daughter, he immediately sees in his head a perfect centerpiece for his dream club.One thing that is extraordinary about this movie is the beautiful acting performance. Fiennes, often called the best internal actor of his generation, gives a stunningly exquisite performance as the blind man who resides in a world inside his mind—take just an example of the shadow of disappointment casting down on the lonely man's face when his new friend Matsuda bids him good night after a long night's conversation about nightclubs in Shanghai. It somehow makes cinematic sense that a person who cannot see other people's faces inadvertently reveals his soul with most minute movements of eyes and facial muscles. Although Fiennes' delicate features and willow physique do not quite conjure up the image of Humphrey Bogart to which the Jackson character curiously alludes, Fiennes makes a perfect bar owner in the style of Rick Blaine (Casablanca) meets Oscar Hopkins (played by Fiennes in Oscar and Lucinda). Richardson wonderfully materializes "the perfect combination of the erotic and the tragic" and gives a heart-breaking performance as the aristocratic woman fallen to the reality of a horrid and abject life, and a mother who is going to do anything to save her child's future.
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Andrew N. Vargo
The White Countess
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 24, 2009