The Wings of the Dove

Iain Softley: The Wings of the Dove (GB 1997) with Alison Elliott (Milly Theale), Helena Bonham Carter (Kate Croy) and Alex Jennings (Lord Mark).

100659 / 12 / GB / 1997 / Softley, Iain / / drama

Wings of the Dove, The / Kyyhkyn siivet. © Miramax; Renaissance Dove. D: Iain Softley. SC: Hossein Amini – based on the novel (1902) by Henry James. DP: Eduardo Serra. PD: John Beard. ST: Sandy Powell. CAST: Helena Bonham Carter (Kate Croy), Linus Roache (Merton Densher), Alison Elliott (Milly Theale). 102’. Scope. DIST: Scanbox Finland. *** The novel by Henry James has never been translated into Finnish, so this is the first time this work is widely introduced in the country. – The Portrait of a Lady started the current cycle of Henry James adaptations; Washington Square is yet to be seen in Finland. The oblique style of Henry James is almost impossible to translate into cinema. The Portrait of the Lady lacked electricity. The Wings of the Dove is more moving. As I haven’t read the novel I’m not able to make comparisons, but I suspect that the more cinematic these films get the further they have to distance themselves from the novels. The strengths: the two female leads and the brilliant costume design. The weakness: the weak male lead. The final scene is very moving. But I prefer Softley’s debut film Backbeat very much to this.

...

POSTSCRIPT. Two years later I received from Rob White the BFI Modern Classics volume of Robin Wood: The Wings of the Dove (GB 2000). A masterpiece of film criticism, a key text about the question of literature adaptation ("there is no such thing as a faithful adaptation") and insightful about Henry James.