Hollywood Reporter
by Frank Scheck
November 15, 2005
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Notable as the final collaboration between director James
Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant, "The White Countess" is a typically classy
period piece that fits in well with the pair's considerable oeuvre. Featuring
stellar performances by Ralph Fiennes and Natasha Richardson, the film, boasting an
original screenplay by Kazuo Ishiguro ("The Remains of the Day"), was recently
showcased at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival prior to its December
theatrical release.
Both stars showcase their skill with accents in the story, set in Shanghai in the
late 1930s. Fiennes plays Todd Jackson, an embittered former American diplomat who
lost both his daughter and his eyes in a terrorist bombing, while Richardson is the
titular figure, Sofia Belinsky, a Russian countess reduced to working as a
dance-hall girl and prostitute in order to support her extended family, which
includes her young daughter and several disapproving in-laws (two of whom are played
by Vanessa and Lynn Redgrave in their first feature pairing).
The film concentrates on the friendly but formal relationship that develops between
Jackson and Belinsky, one that turns deeper as he fulfills his dream of owning a
swanky nightspot. Dubbing it "The White Countess" in her honor, he hires her as its
chief hostess, and the business becomes a raging success. In the best tradition of
foreign-set melodramas, their happiness becomes short-lived thanks to the unrest
created by the impending Japanese invasion of the city.
Ishiguro's screenplay contains more than a few hokey moments and familiar elements,
featuring influences ranging from "Casablanca" to his own "The Remains of the Day,"
but it manages to work nonetheless, aided in no small degree by the polished
production and the committed performances. Fiennes, playing the sort of role that
would have been essayed by Bogart, Gable or Cooper in their heyday, displays both
his gift for incisive characterization and no small amount of movie star charisma.
Richardson, though saddled with an accent that makes her unintelligible at times, is
equally fine, showcasing her intelligence and sensuality in equal proportions.
Redgrave siblings Vanessa and Lynn clearly seem to be enjoying their onscreen time
together, and such British thesps as John Wood, Madeleine Potter and Allan Corduner
deliver vibrant turns in smaller roles. Hiroyuki Sanada, as Jackson's driver with a
shady past, displays the subtle power that has made him a star in his native Japan.
The director has staged the elaborate production in his usual stately but impressive
manner, and the production values boast the usual Merchant/Ivory stamp of quality.
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