On DVD: The Painted Veil

It's a twofer weekend! Next up from DVD viewing: The Painted Veil. Set in pre-Communist China, it's the story of a married couple struggling back from the near-destruction of their relationship and fighting a cholera epidemic in rural China. The scenery and cinematography is quite beautiful. I've always wanted to go to Western China before it's either destroyed from overpopulation or overdevelopment, and every time I see those unearthly mountain formations, I want to go even more.

Naomi Watts is excellent, as always, displaying growth in subtle but measured ways. Edward Norton is good, though it seems as if his British accent is getting in the way of his acting. The story is interesting and well-paced, though everyone's a bit too noble for their own good in the story. Maybe that's the adaptation, or maybe it's the source material from W. Somerset Maugham.

All in all, not a bad way to spend two hours, but it's certainly not in the league of the masterful period pieces of the last decade or so.