After The Piano, Jane Campion could’ve had it easy. She could’ve become an awards-bait director, returning to the red carpet every couple years with a new, sure-to-please bit of high-minded drama. And maybe that’s what it looked like she was doing when it was revealed that her next film was an adaptation of Henry James’ Portrait of a Lady. That was a bit of a trick, though, because this movie is executed with hardly a trace of Merchant Ivory-ness*. It is bizarre, modern and consistently unexpected. In other words, it is a Jane Campion film.
*For the record, Merchant Ivory have produced at least one masterpiece (The Remains of the Day) and a couple other very good films. But they also made The Golden Bowl.
