A Good Woman - DVD Review

This movie is an adaptation of an Oscar Wilde Play.party. By using the gossip about her husband and
Oscar Wilde wrote the play, Lady Windermere's Fan,Mrs. Erlynne, the womanizing Lord Darlington tries to
to be a psychological study, and with its quips andseduce Lady Windermere, while another rich man,
clever dialogue, the play's first performance broughtTuppy, who is quite impressed by Mrs. Erlynne asks
the playwright instant fame.her to marry him. The emotional twist at the end
The premise of the original play aims directly at thecomes just in time to show to the audience--if not to
narrow-mindedness and vanity of the high social classall the characters in the movie--that, in reality, Mrs.
in London in 1892. Its cinematized version, however,Erlynne is a good woman.
takes the story to a more modern place and time,The movie, rated PG, is directed by Mike Barker, and
thus doing injustice to what Wilde had in mind.produced by Alan Grenspan, Jonathan English, Steven
Wilde's play was written as a social commentary; thisSiebert and Howard Himelstein. Howard Himelstein has
movie is made for entertainment. The moviealso adapted the screenplay and Neil Farrell has edited
succeeds only because human emotions do notthe film. The movie casts Helen Hunt as Mrs. Erlynne
change with time, place, and social mores. If one hasand Scarlett Johannson as Lady Windermere, with
not read or watched the original play, the movieTom Wilkinson, Stephen Campbell Moore, Mark
entertains somewhat effectively with its scenery,Umbers, Milena Vukotic, Diana Hardcastle, Roger
costumes, and the startling nature of the plot twistHammond, Jane How, Giorgia Massetti, and John
at the end. Except for the opening scene in NewStanding in major roles. Other credits are:
York, the setting of the movie is in the Amalfi coast,cinematography by Ben Seresin; production design by
Italy, during the 1930's.Ben Scott; and music by Richard G. Mitchell.
Used to living off married men and being finallyThe DVD--of closed-captioned, widescreen, color
rejected by the New York Society, Mrs. Erlynne, withformat--has been released in 2006 by Lions Gate as
not-too-lofty intentions, arrives at the Amalfi coastone disc with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track. Its run time
where the rich spend their summer vacations. Here,is 93 minutes with subtitles in English and Spanish.
her scandalous past makes the gossip flourish, andAfter enjoying the movie first, I read the play later,
when she is sighted with Robert Windermere, thewhich is offered free on the internet. Had I read the
tongues begin to wag.play first, I would have said a few serious things
Robert Windermere is a happily married man, and onagainst the movie for not being loyal to Wilde. Still,
Mrs. Erlynne's suggestion, he buys his wife a fancythe DVD is pleasant enough to watch, and I
fan for her birthday. He also asks his wife Margaretrecommend it to those who like the movies for
Windermere to invite Mrs. Erlynne to her birthdayentertainment only.