The Golden Bowl

A penniless Italian prince (Jeremy Northam) marries a wealthy American heiress (Kate Beckinsale), while his ex-lover (Uma Thurman) marries the heiress’ billionaire father (Nick Nolte); opportunities for deception and betrayal are rife, and few are overlooked. The Merchant-Ivory team tackle Henry James’ complex final novel and pull it off with decorous poise. The ornate English and Italian settings provide a stately frame, and Thurman is brittle and sharply neurotic as the willful Charlotte Stant, her best work to date. Nolte also excels as a man who may know more than he lets on, and so does Anjelica Huston as a matron whose matchmaking goes awry.