The Painted Veil

Clearly a labour of love for the film's leads, who both have producer credits, The Painted Veil is a good opportunity for Edward Norton and Naomi Watts to test their acting credentials in a Merchant Ivory-esque romantic drama. The basic premise is just that: immunologist Norton leaves Shanghai for a small cholera-ridden village with his philandering spouse (Watts), hoping to cure both his marriage and the village's epidemic. With such a massive metaphor looming overhead, the film is otherwise engaged in dissecting the characters' expectations of life and love, a contrast which somehow works to good effect. With a smaller role for grand dame Diana Rigg as a Mother Superior, it has all the necessary ingredients for a film of its genre, with enough smouldering to do you until the adaptation of Lady Chatterley is released in cinemas. [Alec McLeod]