The White Countess (2006) Movie Review, Cast & Crew, Film Summary

Ismail Merchant’s final film as a producer, and one of the best with his and James Ivory’s fingerprints on it, benefits from a storey that could have easily starred Joan Crawford and Errol Flynn as a Russian countess turned cheap dance hall hostess in 1930s Shanghai, and a blind American diplomat who’s disillusioned, drunk, and wants to open his own bar. As it stands, the roles are filled by Natasha Richardson and Ralph Fiennes, neither of whom scream “film passion,” but Fiennes’ portrayal of broken-hearted suffering is powerful. Ivory’s directing is hampered by its customary flaws — a conceited approach that seems blind to its own conceit. However, there is colour, mood, and some terrific melodrama in the last quarter.