The Wings of the Dove (1997)

Very infrequently a film comes along that shatters my expectations in the way that "The Wings of a Dove" has. It is deceptive in its beauty and its gentle pace, its flowery costumes a mask for a hard-hitting tale of class struggle and a woman who confuses desire for love. Though a costume drama at first glance, the art direction becomes something only worth remarking about far after the credits have rolled.

Helena Bonham Carter gives what is not my favorite role of hers, but her best work nevertheless, as Kate Croy, a destitute woman who has made a leap into a bigger world. Leaving her opium-eating father (Michael Gambon) and her radical journalist lover, Merton (Linus Roache), Kate moves in with her rich, hard, yet oddly accommodating Aunt Maude (Charlotte Rampling). Kate's newness to high society is daunting, but she never flinches a muscle, nor does she show the slightest sign of gratitude toward her aunt.

Everything comes down to money for Kate. Aunt Maude tells her she must never see Merton again lest she be disinherited which she does for a time, but befriending a wealthy, deathly ill American heiress (Alison Elliot), she begins to see a way in which she can get her money and leave a world built high upon false smiles and empty wallets.

Bonham Carter's performance is something haunting and unsettling in its command of the screen. Looking like a 14 year old boy in drag and with eyes liquid and steady, she seems to hold not only the other actors, but the camera itself at attention. She is calculating, manipulative, and wildly jealous, but her perceptiveness and collected presence almost succeed at hiding that she is mentally unhinged inside. What a feat of subtlety to be able to convey shades and moods, depths of emotion more from a slight cock of the head and the quietest shift of tone, than from facial expression or large movement. Everything she does as Kate is exact and correct; her acting is exhilarating, but it is only until about an hour in that one realizes what exactly she is doing and how exceptional it is.

The film is largely a showcase of female performances, and those playing opposite her are very good as well. Elliot in particular as the American heiress, Minnie, does wonderfully exuberant work portraying a woman in love and secretly on her deathbed. There are sublime moments of acting from all major and some minor roles, but one in particular is a confession scene between her and Roache.

Director Iain Softley was gifted with a wonderful cast speaking beautiful dialogue. He was able to bring out the best of all of their qualities and construct something graceful, poetic and slightly disturbing. I had infinite more respect for him come the final scenes of the film than I did through much of the story, for I had no idea the places that his movie would take the audience. When we have a full grasp of the characters the meaning of scenes take on new levels and become far more exciting. It was slow in reaching a point of small greatness, but it got there in the end. This is no typical lover's triangle film and Bonham Carter's final words will chill you to the bone.

4/4