Based on the Henry James novel, The Golden Bowl earns a regal place in the long line of lavish Ismail Merchant and James Ivory productions casting spectacular mise en scène in the lead role. The crumbling Italian palazzo that opens the film and the magnificent English country houses that encase the unfolding drama play, as always, an intrinsic part in the ruptured psyche of whatever gentry Merchant and Ivory have elected to pursue. In this case, divided attention is paid to erstwhile glories and turn-of-the-century ambitions. Impoverished Italian prince Amerigo (Jeremy Northam) is to marry heiress Maggie Verver (Kate Beckinsale), school friend of Charlotte (Uma Thurman), who in turn weds American industrialist and art collector Adam Verver (Nick Nolte), Maggie's father. Amerigo and Charlotte, having previously been lovers, are helpless to resist an adulterous affair. A study of life's covetous designs failing to imitate the perceived perfections of art, The Golden Bowl is likewise flawed but alluring. --Fionn Meade