---
product_id: 9925735
title: "The Portrait of a Lady"
brand: "nicole kidmanjohn malkovichjane campion"
price: "$77"
currency: NZD
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.nz/products/9925735-the-portrait-of-a-lady
store_origin: NZ
region: New Zealand
---

# The Portrait of a Lady

**Brand:** nicole kidmanjohn malkovichjane campion
**Price:** $77
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** The Portrait of a Lady by nicole kidmanjohn malkovichjane campion
- **How much does it cost?** $77 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.nz](https://www.desertcart.nz/products/9925735-the-portrait-of-a-lady)

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## Description

The Portrait of a Lady

## Images

![The Portrait of a Lady - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81tkz+EOpuL.jpg)
![The Portrait of a Lady - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81yHMf9nqCL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Doesn't at all capture Henry James' brilliant story
  

*by A***N on Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2021*

I have tried several times to watch this film, but I can't even get past the awful beginning before I totally give up.Not that I don't love Henry James or would not love a well-made film of Portrait of a Lady. I have read the novel three times at least over the years, and it is brilliant.But this film starts out badly, and Nicole Kidman does not suit the role of Isabel Archer, in my opinion, at all. Nor does John Malkovich at all suit the character of the Gilbert Osmond. He's often typecast as an evil or dark figure, although his acting range can and sometimes does take him far afield from those types. Although in the novel Osmond does ultimately turn out to be quite a dark character, in this film and story, Malkovich at first appearance throws off a bit too much darkness, which in the novel is not quite as obvious quite so early as it is here.Moreover, he does not fit well with the handsome romantic type that Osmond initially appears to Isabel.The film is slow and excruciating, whereas when one reads James, the slowness is far outweighed by the exultant prose that gloriously weaves every detail and subtlety into its rich fullness. The film comes up so short it is painful.It ought to have been so much better, given the cast. Some parts are played very well, but others (including the parts taken by Kidman and Malkovich) just made me cringe.I was never able to complete the film, despite many attempts, and I can't recommend it.I do recommend reading Portrait of a Lady in all its literate glory and leaving this film to those unfamiliar with James' brilliance.

### ⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    For Book Readers Only
  

*by K***N on Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2022*

I had just read the Henry James novel for the first time at age 75. This film version can best be described as a Cliff’s Notes version of the novel. At least 70-80% of the movies dialogue is taken directly from the book, and scenes are presented in the same order as in the book.What is missing are James’ narrative of the feelings, emotions and desires of the many characters portrayed. If I had not been aware of the motives and personalities of the different characters from reading the novel it would have been impossible to make any sense of the movie.Perhaps if director Campion had added a narrator to fill the viewer in on what James narrative was in the book it could have made it more accessible to non readers.Ideally a work of this complexity would best be presented as a mini series.For me the character of Ralph was the strongest and most likable of the book. Action flows around Isabel but she herself does little to move the narrative.I had great hope that John Malkovich could be brilliant as Gilbert Osmond—since he’s shown an ability to portray a menacing intellectual. But he very much overplayed the part.The movie has him striking Isabel and also tripping her so she falls, something the Osmond book character would never have considered doing.And director Campion devotes many precious minutes of screen time to scenes of Kidman simply standing or sitting in an outdoor setting—time which could have been put to better use explaining the plot.All in all a noble but flawed attempt at filming a great novel.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Excellent performances but curtailed ending
  

*by R***S on Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2013*

First of all, no adaptation can ever equal the great book by Henry James.  He had a gift not only for writing about displacement but also for writing complicated women - women who strive for a better place, a better solution and a better role to fill than the limited one afforded to them by society. Isabel Archer is one of his greatest creations and I thought she was wonderfully played by Nicole Kidman. This is a difficult role and it could not have been easy for her to take it on as Isabel runs the gamut of emotions from start to finish.  She inhabits the role of Isabel - of being that woman who longs for something more, something elusive, something different.  Her co-stars provide her with the very thing she longed for, to the ultimate sad outcome.Martin Donovan and Barbara Hershey deserve extra accolades for the believability they lent to their characterizations of Ralph Touchett and Serena Merle.  Ralph is the unacknowledged heart of the story until his sad demise and Isabel's realization of his unintended contribution to her now sad life. Merle, the consummate American sophisticate and expatriate, is peeled apart layer by layer on screen.  She manages expertly to be a mosaic of a person - a different character with every person she encounters - but she is ultimately trapped by the choices she has made.  In some ways, she is more tragic than Isabel and in other ways, she is more devious than Gilbert. The hardest roles to fill onscreen are those of the selfless (Ralph) and the complex (Merle).  Martin and Barbara were perfectly cast.The direction by Jane Campion was a bit frazzled as she inserted certain dream sequences which I found unnecessary and bizarre.  The Isabel of Henry Jame's creation may have been headstrong, but she was never dreamy or prone to such flights of fancy. I also found the ending did a disservice to the story.  There was no hope for Casper and Isabel and she should have been shown in the context of the ending of the novel.  At the conclusion of the novel, Isabel was left with two choices - return to Osmond or rescue Pansy.  Through Ralph, she had secured a financial legacy, with his passing she had acquired the freedom to make this choice, which were offered as a result of her own choices in life.  An ending fitting for a complex tale.

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*Product available on Desertcart New Zealand*
*Store origin: NZ*
*Last updated: 2026-01-27*