A Good Woman (2004)

A Good Woman. Film Review. A little bit of background before i went into the reviews. I had several stacks of films in my room (around eleven - twelve). Each stack consists of 20 to 40 titles, ordered alphabetically. And a very good portion of it hadn't had a chance to spin into my disc chamber (less pretentious words and more straight to the point, i hadn't seen most of the films i had). So, i had decided to pick-up the first stack and eat through it. A Good Woman (i made a newbie mistake by putting A Good Woman into an 'A' section rather than 'G' section) was the first film of this stack i happened to chose from. And i had really no idea about the film beforehand. Not even who the actors were in the film.

It started slow, but it turns out to be one film that i'd like to suggest if you had a spare time, and had a thing about drama. In my old rating system, i'd give the film a solid three stars.

The film was relatively unknown by the time of its release. However, a year after its initial release, the film was finally seen the light of day. And i had guessed and i persumed i had guessed correctly that the film was just did so because none other than voluptuous white-hot Scarlett Johansson after attained some kind of recognition through her previous Lost in Translation. I was surprised as well when she made her first appearance on this film.

Based on an Oscar Wilde's play "Lady Windermere's fan", the film told the story of an American woman, Mrs. Erlynne (Helen Hunt) whose ill reputation made her no stranger among the wealthy married-women. When her reputation owned her, she went to Italy where she met with Lord Windermere whose newly wed with Meg (Scarlett Johannson). She quickly gains reputation among the gossipers. But was she really what she is? Meanwhile, Lord Darlington seen the possibility of Lord Windermere's infidelity, didn't waste time to jump with the gossip wagon for his own good - he, like any men should, had his eyes on Meg. And there's also a wealthy aristocrat (the ever-venerable Tom Wilkinson)

The essence of the film was that there's a secret that accompanies Mrs. Erlynne's visit to Italy. And the fact that the film left with not all the characters understood the secret made the film stand above most and provided some kind of a reward for my patience. Aside from that, the dialogs were witty and (often hard) very enjoyable to follow. A fact that i found out later that the film's script kept most of the original dialogs written by Mr. Oscar Wilde intact.

As long as i remembered, though i haven't seen many of her movies lately, this is Helen Hunt's most memorable performance. I loved her expression when she did her very last scene with Meg. It was a mere flick of an eye, but my, what an expression. And this said scene which appropriately put at the near end of the film that elevates my general mood toward the film in general. Scarlett Johansson is at her usual self. Her attractive (and not to mention, inviting) persona easily kept her presence memorable. Although told be truth, i haven't seen any difference in the film as with her other roles.