Oscar Wilde was known for his clever and witty plays. MRS. WINDERMERE’S FAN is no exception, and A GOOD WOMAN, is a worthy theatrical adaptation.
It is the 1930s. Mrs. Erlynne (Hunt) is an American seductress who lives lavishly through the many rich and powerful men in New York. The wives soon catch on, and the infamous Mrs. Erlynne is battered with bad reputations and debts. She turns her attention to a rich, young American couple, the Windermeres. She treks all the way to the coast of Italy, where the young couple currently resides, and is determined to start anew using her charm and sensuality.
Within a short time, she befriends the dashing Robert Windermere (Umbers), who is at once taken by her mature sophistication. Robert starts to have secret meetings with Mrs. Erlynne and pays her large sums of money behind his wife’s back. Meanwhile, Meg Windermere (Johansson) meets handsome Lord Darlington (Moore), the confirmed bachelor who immediately falls under the spell of beautiful and innocent Meg. 
Lord Darlington, knowing Robert Windermere’s secret, aggressively pursues Meg, but she is totally in love with her husband and refuses to oblige. Meanwhile, Tuppy (Wilkinson) is drawn to Mrs. Erlynne, a woman so unlike all the women he has ever met (or divorced). The women in town start to gossip, thinking they know more than they actually do. Soon Mrs. Erlynne’s past catches up with her, and Meg begins to suspect her husband is having an affair with Mrs. Erlynne, whose secret is bigger and deeper than Meg realizes.
Hunt (EMPIRE FALLS) is in great form here, looking older but very sexy. She has a difficult job of playing a woman who is not entirely sympathetic and trustworthy, even though the character redeems herself at the end. Hunt’s luminous performance is both subtle and showy at the same time. Johansson (MATCH POINT) again plays a young woman caught between lies and deceits around her. She does a good job, though it’s far from being her best performance.
Wilkinson (BATMAN BEGINS) is warm and charming as the beguiling Tuppy, a man who knows what he wants and goes for it. Wilkinson’s seasoned performance is remarkable. Umbers (COLOUR ME KUBRICK) does a fine job as the dashing Robert Windermere with a secret. Moore (BRIGHT YOUNG THING) plays the not-so-subtle Lord Darlington with charm and a touch of sliminess.The script by Himelstein (POWER OF ATTORNEY) is a worthy adaptation of Wilde’s play. It is a feast of words, wit and humor. The story’s plot and structure are very clever, perhaps a little too clever at times. The audience is led to believe certain things, then it’s revealed later that we’ve all thought wrong. It’s easy to feel manipulated; at the same time, it’s enthralling to see the mystery unveiled, and we can’t help but marvel at Wilde’s cleverness. Wilde’s story, as well as Himelstein’s script, is also a fascinating study of the social mores of the time. Still, the story has its drawback: its lack of real intimacy and deep emotions. The acting, however, helps bring the characters to life and make us care about them despite their superficiality.
Barker’s (TO KILL A KING) deft direction leaves us with a lavish production of gorgeous landscapes and cinematography, beautiful costumes and luxurious sets. He also manages to navigate the intricate web of relationships, characters, and clever plot without bogging us down with inane and convoluted details. If the good-looking film still sounds and feels like a play, it’s a good thing. It’s a shame that, so far, this good film goes largely unnoticed even with its Oscar-caliber performances and production values.Stars: Helen Hunt, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Wilkinson, Stephen Campbell Moore, Mark Umbers, Milena Vukotic, Roger Hammond
Director: Mark Barker
Writers: Howard Himelstein (based on play, Mrs. Windermere’s Fan, by Oscar Wilde)
Distributor: Lions Gate
MPAA Rating: PG for thematic material, sensuality, language
Running Time: 93 minutes
RATINGS:
Script – 7
Performance – 8
Direction – 7
Cinematography – 8
Music/Sound– 7
Editing – 7
Production – 8
Total – 7.3 out of 10
Lorenzo’s experience tells him that Brenda has not told the whole truth, that she is hiding something. The more he questions Brenda, the more evasive she becomes. To make matters worse, her brother, Danny (Eldard) is a detective from another precinct, and he’s determined to turn Armstrong upside down to find the culprit and his nephew, and there’s nothing Lorenzo can do to stop it. Lorenzo asks for help from Karen (Falco) and her group of concerned mothers who have worked over the last decade finding missing children in the neighborhood. Together, they attempt to find out what really happened.
Jackson (STAR WARS) is solid as Lorenzo, a man who is filled with regrets and his own demons. Jackson’s slightly over-the-top performance does give the character an edge and some complexity. However, Moore (THE FORGOTTEN) has turned her portrayal of the disturbed Brenda into a caricature. Her usual subtlety and nuance are amiss here. Her crying, screaming, and evasion become tiresome and grating very quickly. It’s sad to see her being typecast in these tormented, weeping mother roles.
Jack Stanfield (Ford) is the VP of Security at a prominent bank in Seattle. He has a beautiful home architected by his supportive and loving wife Beth (Madsen). They have a young son Andy (Bennett) and a rebellious teenage daughter Sarah (Schroeder). Jack goes to work one day and discovers that someone has stolen his identity and racked up $95,000 of gambling debt. He chalks it up as a minor irritation but doesn’t pay attention to it. When he meets a client named Bill Cox (Bettany) for a business dinner, he has no idea that his life is going to change.
Ford hasn’t done much after HOLLYWOOD HOMICIDE, 
In fact, that’s one of the big problems with the film. None of the characters have depth. They are exact cardboard cutouts from hundreds of thrillers we’ve seen before. The story and the plot are cookie-cutter material as well. The whole production has that stale, been-there-done-that feel to it. The premise is interesting enough, but the execution is lackluster at best, ridiculous at worse. Anytime we have a thriller that deals with technologies, the result seems to be laughable. The way they break into the bank sounds interesting at first, but totally implausible on second thought. The breakneck pace helps a little, to stop us from asking too many logical questions, but the repetitive actions and consequences become tiresome quickly. The plot takes a more interesting turn two-third in, when Jack realizes the robbery is the least of his problem. However, by then, the audience’s patience has already worn thin.
The script by Forte (SAY I DO
Dench (PRIDE & PREJUICE
What is a film about Vaudeville tableaus without nudity? The women are definitely eye candy, what with their beautiful bodies and faces. Yet, the nudity is only secondary in the film, nothing gratuitous. The story and the characters are the focus. Some parts of the film do drag, and other parts border on melodramatic. But over all, I find the film entirely enjoyable and touching, and the performance wonderful by all the leads. Mr. Frears has presented us a little gem of a film about a woman who is not only larger than life, but is full of life herself.