Making a good effort
A GOOD WOMAN
A Good Woman centres around the infamous Mrs Erlynne (Hunt), a siren-style temptress of other women’s husbands. Chased out of respectable American society, she sets out to ‘befriend’ the young Mr Windermere, which leads to all sorts of gossip amongst his friends and a great deal of pain for his wife. To tell any more would spoil the end for those not familiar with Wilde’s play; but fear not as all ends well, with a happy couple jetting off into the sunset together • literally.
Cliché or postmodernism? Most probably the latter, as this film displays the lighter side of life. The screenplay, adapted from Oscar Wilde’s Lady Windermere’s Fan, sees the action played out by Americans on the Amalfi coast, which lends it a hint of Henry James. Nevertheless, the film is still unmistakeably Wilde in its humour, although there are moments where the film seems rather more burdened than decorated by Wilde witticisms.
But who could not to be entertained by the words “The only way to behave to a woman is to make love to her if she is pretty, and to someone else if she is plain”? Despite the fact that works of this genre are normally pushed aside under the heading of ‘chick flick’, the humour within A Good Woman is a bridge between genders • men did laugh during the film.
The film features a solid cast, with Helen Hunt as Mrs Erlynne, Scarlett Johansson as Mrs Windermere, Tom Wilkinson, and Stephen Campbell Moore of Bright Young Things fame. They strike a balance of glamour and comedy that cannot be faulted. At points, attempts are made to explore the real emotion behind the characters’ situations: of Mrs Windermere as the betrayed wife and Mrs Erlynne as she attempts to be a ‘good woman’. However, the mood is always lifted by that unique Wilde irony.
This is above-par costume drama, and while it might fail to astound, it certainly will not fail to amuse.
19th May 2005