The Painted Veil (2006)

Director:

John Curran

Writers (WGA):

Ron Nyswaner (screenplay)
W. Somerset Maugham (novel)

Release Date:

19 January 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Sometimes the greatest journey is the distance between two people

Plot:

A British medical doctor fights a cholera outbreak in a small Chinese village, while also being trapped at home in a loveless marriage to an unfaithful wife.

Plot Keywords:

Marriage | Cholera | China | Epidemic | Doctor

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 4 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Catherine An	...	Hostess
Bin Li	...	Te-Ming
Bin Wu	...	Student 1
Alan David	...	Mr. Garstin
Marie-Laure Descoureaux	...	Sister St. Joseph
Sally Hawkins	...	Mary
Juliet Howland	...	Dorothy Townsend
Toby Jones	...	Waddington
Lorraine Laurence	...	Sister Maryse
Johnny Lee	...	Angry Chinese Man
Li Feng	...	Sung Ching
Gesang Meiduo	...	Amah
Edward Norton	...	Walter Fane
Yin Qing	...	Student 2
Ian Renwick	...	Geoffrey Denison (as Ian Rennick)
Diana Rigg	...	Mother Superior
Liev Schreiber	...	Charlie Townsend
Cheng Shihan	...	Warlord Kwei
Liang Sijie	...	Student 3
Maggie Steed	...	Mrs. Garstin
Henry Sylow	...	Walter Junior
Zoe Telford	...	Leona
Lucy Voller	...	Doris Garstin
Naomi Watts	...	Kitty Fane
Anthony Wong Chau-Sang	...	Colonel Yu (as Anthony Wong)
Yan Lü	...	Wan Xi
Yu Xia	...	Wu Lien
Ma Yun	...	Student 4
Lin Zheng	...	Chinese Opera Star
Tian Hua Yao	...	Singing Orphan
Di Wu	...	Singing Orphan
Yue Qi Liu	...	Singing Orphan
Zhuo Er Li	...	Singing Orphan
Jia Yi Hu	...	Singing Orphan
Yu Tong Guo	...	Singing Orphan
Wei Xin Zhao	...	Singing Orphan
Xi Chen	...	Singing Orphan
Tong Xuan Shi	...	Sinfing Orphan
Yu Xin Tang	...	Singing Orphan
Qiao Jia Li Gao	...	Singing Orphan
Yu Yang Cheng	...	Singing Orphan
Jia Hui Guo	...	Singing Orphan
Yi Yuan Huang	...	Singing Orphan
Shu Hao Xu	...	Singing Orphan
Yue Fei	...	Singing Orphan
Ting Yu Meng	...	Singing Orphan
Zhu Yue Cheng	...	Singing Orphan
Qiao Ming Fang Gao	...	Singing Orphan
Ya Zuo Tan	...	Singing Orphan
John Cann	...	Businessman in Colony Club
Maurice Herschtal	...	Businessman in Colony Club
Bill Marcus	...	Businessman in Colony Club
Shobauro Hiratsuka	...	Businessman in Colony Club

Directed by
John Curran

Writing credits (WGA)
Ron Nyswaner		(screenplay)
W. Somerset Maugham		(novel)

Produced by
Antonia Barnard	....	co-producer
Antonia Barnard	....	line producer
Sara Colleton	....	producer
John Curran	....	executive producer
Jean-François Fonlupt	....	producer
Yasmine Golchan	....	co-producer
Mark Gordon	....	executive producer
Robert Katz	....	executive producer
Ming Beaver Kwei	....	associate producer: China (as Ming 'Beaver' Kwei)
Chris Miller	....	post-production producer: Visionbox Media Group
Edward Norton	....	producer
Ron Nyswaner	....	executive producer
Naomi Watts	....	producer
Bob Yari	....	producer
Jiakun Zhang	....	line producer: China (as Zhang 'Jaguar' Jiakun)

Original Music by
Alexandre Desplat

Cinematography by
Stuart Dryburgh		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Alexandre de Franceschi

Casting by
Ellen Lewis

Production Design by
Juhua Tu

Art Direction by
Mei Kunping
Xinran Tu
Yanrong Xing

Set Decoration by
Peta Lawson

Costume Design by
Ruth Myers

Makeup Department
Michal Bigger	....	makeup artist: Naomi Watts
Yu Che	....	assistant makeup artist
Leslie Devlin	....	key makeup artist
Wang Fei	....	assistant makeup artist
Rick Findlater	....	hair department head
Guozhen Han	....	assistant makeup artist
Warren Hanneman	....	hairdresser
Owens King	....	wig maker: UK
Georgia Lockhart-Adams	....	hairdresser (as Georgia Lockhart Adams)
Annette Miles	....	wig maker: Australia
Juan Ni	....	assistant makeup artist
Julie Pearce	....	makeup department head
Mengmeng Su	....	assistant makeup artist
Christie Wang	....	makeup artist (as Wang 'Christie' Xin)

Production Management
Jamie Beardsley	....	unit production manager
Bill Newcomb	....	post-production supervisor: Visionbox Media Group
Louise Runge	....	post-production manager: Yari Film Group
Ada Shen	....	production consultant: China
Deanne Stratford	....	assistant production manager
Shelly Strong	....	executive in charge of production
Hong Wang	....	assistant production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jason Faulkner	....	second assistant director
Crystal Gong Chun	....	second assistant director: China (as Gong 'Crystal' Chun)
Phil Jones	....	first assistant director
Bin Liao	....	third assistant director
John Mahaffie	....	second unit director
Lee 'Johnny' Man Yu	....	first assistant director: China

Art Department
Jeremy Ball	....	art department coordinator
Jinli Chang	....	propmaker
Jinzhu Chen	....	assistant property master
Sherrie Dai	....	assistant to set decorator
Piazhao Dou	....	prop assistant
Junhua Du	....	on-set props
Junwei Gao	....	on-set props assistant
Yan-Qing He	....	construction foreman (as He Yanqing)
Shuen Hua	....	construction foreman
Yanwu Hu	....	on-set props assistant
Guangzhan Jiang	....	prop assistant
Quan Jiang	....	set construction master
Han Li	....	assistant property master
Jun Li	....	on-set dresser
Zhao 'Natalie' Nali	....	assistant art director
Rolland Pike	....	set dresser: London
Hongwu Sun	....	assistant art director
Yunyun Tang	....	assistant art director
Zepeng Tan	....	prop assistant
Qiang Wang	....	property master
Qinghui Wang	....	prop assistant
Guozheng Wu	....	on-set props assistant
Mingbo Wu	....	propmaker
Mingchen Yang	....	construction foreman
Qua Zhang	....	construction foreman
Zhiyuan Zhao	....	prop assistant

Sound Department
Joel Dougherty	....	foley editor
Catherine Harper	....	foley artist
Doc Kane	....	adr mixer
Tim LeBlanc	....	sound re-recording mixer
David Lee	....	sound recordist
Wayne Lemmer	....	sound effects editor
Skip Lievsay	....	sound re-recording mixer
Skip Lievsay	....	supervising sound editor
Howard London	....	adr mixer
Darrin Mann	....	foley mixer
Paul Menichini	....	sound effects editor
Christopher Moriana	....	foley artist (as Chris Moriana)
Gerry Nucifora	....	boom operator
Derek Vanderhorst	....	sound designer
Derek Vanderhorst	....	sound re-recording mixer
Byron Wilson	....	adr supervisor
Byron Wilson	....	dialogue supervisor
Hao Wu	....	cable runner
Aya Yamashita	....	cable runner

Special Effects by
Jinguo Yang	....	special effects: smoke
Yimin Yang	....	special effects: smoke

Visual Effects by
Jason Bath	....	visual effects production supervisor: Fuel International
Jason Billington	....	compositor: Fuel International
Paul Butterworth	....	visual effects supervisor: Fuel International
Patrick Clancey	....	digital opticals: EFilm
Chris Davies	....	compositor: Fuel International
Eleni Diakomichalis	....	CG models and textures: Fuel International
Lianne Forbes	....	camera tracker: Fuel International
Matt Greig	....	compositor: Fuel International
James McCallum	....	camera tracker: Fuel International
Steve Oakley	....	senior CG artist: Fuel International
Danita Slaughter	....	digital opticals editor: EFilm
Grant Warwick	....	CG models and textures: Fuel International
David Woodland	....	matte painter: Fuel International
Matthew Wynne	....	compositor: Fuel International
Koji Yamaguchi	....	compositor: Fuel International
Denise Ballantyne	....	visual effects consultant (uncredited)

Stunts
Guoguang Hu	....	stunts
Hua Li	....	stunts
Jieyi Li	....	stunts
Qinjian	....	stunts
Liang Sijie	....	stunts
Wenrui Sun	....	horse wrangler
Bin Wu	....	stunts
Qing Yin	....	stunts
Ma Yun	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Inga Fillary	....	clapper loader: second unit
Simon Hawkins	....	dolly grip: Western
Simon Hawkins	....	key grip: Western
Brenden Holster	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Changjie Hu	....	video split operator
Jianmin Ji	....	chief lighting technician (as Ji Jianming)
Baoquan Li	....	head grip
Alex Lo	....	assistant camera: second unit
John Mahaffie	....	director of photography: second unit
Cameron McLean	....	Steadicam operator
Cameron McLean	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Matthew Wakai	....	clapper loader: "a" camera (as Matthew Wa Kai)
Lihong Wang	....	best boy
Jeffrey Weil	....	assistant to director of photography (as Jeff Weil)
Jeffrey Weil	....	clapper loader: "b" camera (as Jeff Weil)
Noah Weinzweig	....	camera operator: second unit
Glen Wilson	....	still photographer
Lele Xu Le	....	electrics translator (as Lu Xu)
Lele Xu Le	....	grip (as Lu Xu)
Jiandong Yu	....	best boy
Jie Yu	....	still photographer
Chuncheng Zhao	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera

Casting Department
Maria Barbieri	....	extras casting: Shanghai Western
Daming Chen	....	casting consultant: China
Juliet Horsley	....	casting assistant: UK
Lan Mo	....	extras casting: Beijing
Claire Saunders	....	casting: UK
Julie Schubert	....	casting assistant: USA
Georgia Simon	....	adr voice casting
Bing Wang	....	extras casting: Chinese

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Yulong Cao	....	costume assistant
Laura Ergis	....	key costumer
'Rebecca' Qin Jiang	....	costume translator
Deng Liai	....	costume assistant
Que Lihong	....	costume assistant
Jianjun Liu	....	costume assistant
Xingmei Liu	....	assistant to wardrobe supervisor
Sharon McCormack	....	chief costume cutter
Sharon McCormack	....	chief costume maker
William McPhail	....	costume supervisor
Jack Tung	....	wardrobe supervisor
Qiang Tu	....	costume translator (as Tu 'Omar' Qiang)
Lei Wang	....	costume assistant

Editorial Department
Beth Dewey	....	digital intermediate producer: EFilm
Michael Eaves	....	supervising digital colorist: EFilm (as Mike Eaves)
Lara Ford	....	editing manager
Jennifer Godin	....	post-production coordinator: Yari Film Group (as Jenn Godin)
Chris Jensen	....	digital color assist: EFilm
Louise Kan	....	second assistant editor: Australia
Esther Lee	....	digital intermediate assistant producer: EFilm
Jack Lewars	....	digital colorist assist: EFilm
Diva Magpayo	....	first assistant editor: USA
Devon Miller	....	digital intermediate editor: EFilm
Simon Njoo	....	first assistant editor: Australia
Robert E. Phillips	....	digital intermediate assistant producer: EFilm
John Portnoy	....	post-production executive: Yari Film Group
Jesse Wagler	....	digital intermediate assistant editor: EFilm

Music Department
Jean-Pascal Beintus	....	additional orchestrator
Quan Bing	....	choir master (as Mr. Bing Quan)
Denis Caribaux	....	assistant engineer: Paris
Kotzman Cenda	....	assistant engineer: Prague (as Cenda Kotzmann)
Evan H. Chen	....	music arranger (as Evan Chen)
Evan H. Chen	....	piano tutor (as Evan Chen)
Peter Clarke	....	music editor: Prague and Paris
Alexandre Desplat	....	music conductor
Alexandre Desplat	....	orchestrator
Xavier Forcioli	....	assistant to composer
Sébastien Gaxie	....	additional orchestrator
Richard Glasser	....	music executive: Yari Film Group
Richard Glasser	....	music researcher
Lang Lang	....	musician: piano soloist
Petr Pycha	....	orchestra contractor: Prague
Jim Schultz	....	music editor: Los Angeles
Vincent Segal	....	musician: electric cello
Jiri Simunek	....	music preparation
Masae Takahashi	....	assistant choir master
John Timperley	....	music mixer
John Timperley	....	music recordist
Christine Woodruff	....	music researcher

Transportation Department
Dali Zhang	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Laura Atkins	....	post-production accountant: Post Accountants Inc.
Yin Bai	....	catering assistant: Chinese
Sunil Bhuta	....	business & legal affairs executive: Yari Film Group
Dennis Brown	....	chief financial officer: Yari Film Group
James Burnett	....	chef
Vivien Juan Cao	....	base liaison: Beijing (as Cao 'Viven' Juan)
Jianping Chen	....	second accountant: China
Shauna Cho	....	accounts assistant
Emma Cooper	....	unit publicist
Kyle Cooper	....	main title designer and producer: Prologue
Frank Cramme	....	chef: Naomi Watts
Minnie Duerr	....	production accountant
Ed Dunn	....	stand-in
Wei Du	....	unit doctor
Lara Ford	....	post production coordinator: Australia
Heng Gao	....	caterer: Chinese
Kelli Gillam	....	post-production accountant: Post Accountants Inc.
Sharmila Gokel	....	assistant to chief financial officer: Yari Film Group
Brendan Gunn	....	dialogue coach
Jack W. Haddox	....	production controller (as Jack Haddox)
Cindy Hamilton	....	caterer: western
Victoria Hamilton	....	assistant: Naomi Watts
Victoria Hamilton	....	translator: Naomi Watts
Josh Haynie	....	head of production: EFilm
Eppie Hung	....	bilingual call sheet translator
Junjie Jiang	....	catering assistant: Chinese
'Rebecca' Qin Jiang	....	continuity: second unit
He-Yong Kang	....	location manager: Guangxi (as Kang Heyong)
Laine R. Kline	....	business & legal affairs executive: Yari Film Group (as Laine Kline)
Richard Kroll	....	researcher: stock footage
Joy Lee	....	bilingual accounts assistant
Joy Lei Jia	....	assistant chef (as Joy Lei)
Guiqun Liu	....	production runner
Sherrie Liu	....	script supervisor
Zoe Li	....	assistant: Antonia Barnard
Chris Lutz	....	researcher: stock footage
John Bard Manulis	....	chief executive officer: Visionbox Media Group (as John Manulis)
Linda L. Miller	....	production executive: Yari Film Group (as Linda Miller)
Milano Miodino	....	assistant: Naomi Watts (as Milano Miodini)
Patrick Nicholls	....	first assistant accountant: New York
Susan Nickerson	....	researcher: stock footage
Adam Presser	....	script researcher
Ying Qin	....	production assistant
Michelle Reed	....	assistant to chief operations officer: Yari Film Group
Albert G. Ruben	....	insurance: Aon
Aaron Shershow	....	bilingual location manager
Bernd Stephan	....	financial executive: Yari Film Group
James Szyszko	....	choreographer
Maggie Tang	....	bilingual production manager assistant
Stephen Taylor	....	production accountant (as Steve Taylor)
Haiqing Tian	....	production assistant
Silvana Tropea	....	assistant: Edward Norton
Alex Vonhungen	....	assistant: Lane Kline, Yari Film Group
Louise Wallace	....	stand-in
Xin Wang	....	set production assistant
Ping Wan	....	base liaison: Beijing
Xiancong Wan	....	unit doctor
Ian Watermeier	....	production executive: Yari Film Group
Randy Weiss	....	production executive: Visionbox Media Group
Katherine Wood	....	bilingual assistant production manager
Yaguang Wu	....	production assistant
Zhengguo Wu	....	location manager: Shanghai
Qiaolong Xi	....	location manager: Shanghai
Guangjun Yang	....	set production assistant
Hong Yang	....	set production assistant
Huajun Yang	....	catering assistant: Chinese
Naikun Yang	....	catering assistant: Chinese
Tian Ying	....	first accountant: China
Yan 'Jane' Yonghao	....	production secretary
Chunmei Yuan	....	catering assistant: Chinese
Li 'Betty' Yuan	....	production secretary
Cindear Zan	....	mandarin tutor: Edward Norton (as Zan 'Cindear' Xin)
Cindear Zan	....	translator: Edward Norton (as Zan 'Cindear' Xin)
Ivan Zbiral	....	assistant: John Timperley, Prague
Xiangchun Zeng	....	production assistant
Jiaqi Zhang	....	caterer: Chinese
Xiangjian Zhang	....	production assistant
Yang Zhang	....	location manager: Guangxi
Lili Zhao	....	third accountant: China
Seth Kleinberg	....	producer: main titles (uncredited)
Jarin Rossiter	....	business & legal affairs (uncredited)

Thanks
Sanping Han	....	acknowledgment: Warner China Film HG Corporation (as San Ping Han)
Deng Meng	....	acknowledgment: Warner China Film HG Corporation
Julie Pearce	....	in loving memory of our friend
John Timperley	....	in loving memory of our friend
Buting Yang	....	acknowledgment: Warner China Film HG Corporation
Hai Cheng Zhao	....	acknowledgment: Warner China Film HG Corporation (as Zhao Haicheng)

Production Companies

• WIP
• Stratus Film Co.
• Bob Yari Productions
• Class 5 Films
• Colleton Company, The
• Dragon Studios
• Emotion Pictures
• Mark Gordon Company, The
• Warner China Film HG Corporation

Distributors

• Yari Film Group Releasing (2006-2008) (worldwide) (all media)
• Warner Independent Pictures (WIP) (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
• Aurum Producciones (2006) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Eagle Pictures (2007) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Independent Films (2007) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Metropolitan Filmexport (2007) (France) (theatrical)
• Nordisk Film Theatrical Distribution (2007) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Prime Entertainment (2007) (South Korea) (theatrical)
• Shaw Organisation (2007) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Transmission (2007) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Village Films (2007) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Audio Visual Entertainment (2007) (Greece) (DVD)
• Gativideo (2008) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Warner China Film HG Corporation (2006) (China) (all media)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Fuel International (visual effects)

Other Companies

• AON China  insurance
• AON/Albert G. Ruben Insurance Services  insurance (as AON Albert G. Ruben)
• Atlab  film processing
• Bank of Ireland  production financing provided by
• Beijing Takahashi Culture & Art Center  choir
• China Film Co-Production Corporation  production supervision
• Cinerent (Thailand) Co. Ltd.  grip and electric equipment (as Cinerent)
• Corbis Motion  stock footage courtesy of
• Deutsche Grammophon  soundtrack
• Donna Daniels Public Relations  publicity
• EFilm  digital intermediate
• Film History Foundation  stock footage courtesy of
• Frame, Set & Match  telecine transfers (as Frame Set Match)
• Fujifilm  motion picture products
• Getty Images  stock footage courtesy of
• Hammerhead Sound  sound editorial services
• Historic Films  stock footage courtesy of
• JEA  stock footage courtesy of
• Kodak  motion picture products
• Lee Gardens Serviced Apartments  accommodation: Beijing
• Magic Film and Video Works  negative cutting
• Midnight Express  travel and freight services
• Owen King & Company  wig manufacture (as Owens King)
• Panavision  cameras and lenses
• Phototake  stock footage courtesy of
• Post Accounts  post-production accounting (as Post Accountants Inc.)
• Prologue Films  main title design and production (as Prologue)
• Reel Freight Solutions  travel and freight services
• Rudolfinum Dvorak's Hall, Prague  music recorded at (as The Dvorak Hall)
• Salon Films  camera equipment
• Scarlet Letters  end titles
• Showfilm  travel and freight services
• Spot Runner  marketing
• Studio Guillaume Tell  music mixed at
• Travel Company, The  travel and freight services
• UCLA  stock footage courtesy of
• University of South Carolina  stock footage courtesy of
• Visionbox Media Group  post-production supervision and services
• Warner Bros. Studio Facilities  sound re-recording services
• Warner Travel  travel and freight services

Also Known As:

Mian sha (China: Mandarin title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some mature sexual situations, partial nudity, disturbing images and brief drug content.

Runtime:

USA:125 min | Argentina:125 min

Country:

China | USA

Language:

Mandarin | English | French

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Malaysia:(Banned) | Singapore:NC-16 | Finland:K-11 | Ireland:12A | Hong Kong:IIA | Denmark:11 | UK:12 (DVD rating) | UK:12A (original rating) | South Korea:15 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #42973) | France:U | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Sweden:11

Filming Locations:

Beijing Film Studio, Beijing, China

Company:

WIP

Trivia:

Edward Norton personally recruited Naomi Watts for her role in the film.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Walter is telling Kitty he wants to divorce her, Kitty's necklace (with Charlie Townsend's ring) disappears and reappears between shots.

Quotes:

Kitty Fane: It's raining cats and dogs.
Kitty Fane: I said it's raining cats and dogs.
Walter Fane: Yes, I heard you.
Kitty Fane: You might have answered.
Walter Fane: I suppose I'm not used to speaking unless I've something to say.
Kitty Fane: If people only spoke when they had something to say, the human race would soon lose the power of speech.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2007-01-06)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

A La Claire Fontaine

Watts and Norton present The Painted Veil in vivid, true to life colors

The Painted Veil has all of the elements a viewer looks for in a period piece set during the time of British colonial rule. Beautiful scenery and costumes, a cast of thousands, and enough background information to make you feel you are more educated about a time and place than you were before you saw the movie.

What this film offers the fortunate viewer that many other movies of its kind do not, are lead characters you can actually empathize with and grow to care about. "Walter" and "Kitty" are far more likable and worth rooting for than- I don't know, let's say- Ralph Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas in the English Patient (see? I don't even remember their characters' names.) The movie's tagline- "Sometimes the greatest journey is the distance between two people" succinctly points to the heart of this film, and what makes it work so well; the journey of a couple who married for the wrong reasons towards true intimacy with each other.

On one level, the plot is so simple and straightforward that a one line summary gives the whole story away, and for that reason, I will refrain from providing that information as much as possible. It is enough to know that it is the story of The Fanes- Walter, the shy, bookish bacteriologist, and Kitty, the shallow, haughty young woman he becomes infatuated in and persuades to marry him. Walter takes Kitty to Shanghai, where he works in a government lab. Circumstances lead Walter to re-locate them to a more remote area of China in the throes of a cholera epidemic. It is in this setting that the parallel stories unfold; the story of a doctor and his wife living in the house of a dead missionary's family as the doctor tries to get control of the conditions responsible for the epidemic, and the story of the couple's journey towards re-discovering each other.

The impressive skill that Ms. Watts and Mr. Norton bring to their work truly makes you believe that that the first challenge- combating cholera amid colonial unrest and nationalist hostilities is easier than the task of repairing a damaged marriage, and with each uneasy glance and every unsaid word, you feel what these two people feel. And that is the beauty of The Painted Veil. Fans of Ms. Watts and Mr. Norton will have reason to rejoice- this is a performance unlike any I have ever seen Ms. Watts give. There is nothing of what was becoming her trademark "emotionally fragile woman in shambles" persona on display here. And what of Edward Norton? Well, after his turn in The Illusionist earlier in the year and now "Walter Fane," all I can say is, move over, Ralph Fiennes- there's a new sexy "repressed, stiff-upper-lipped, sensually simmering under the surface" leading man in town.

The Painted Veil is an intelligently adapted, well-directed film with two charismatic, award-worthy lead performances and a strong supporting cast, including Liev Schreiber, Diana Rigg, and most notably Toby Jones as the Fanes' neighbor. It is also wonderfully entertaining, and a good introduction to the period piece/historical epic genre some viewers have been avoiding due to fear of suffocation.