A Good Woman

While retaining her secret identity, the illustrious Mrs. Erlynne (Hunt) saves Lady Windemere (Johansson) from making a grand social faux-pas with the scoundrelly Lord Darlington (Moore).

My expectations were a bit low on this because I am still warming up to Helen Hunt. All those years of "Mad About You" never convinced me, but I am starting to have second thoughts. This film is a notch above her usual stuff.

Although I am not familiar with the Oscar Wilde play, I am quite pleased with this adaptation. It is moving, with decent twists and turns. There are also more than a handful of quotable lines, which I presume are Wilde's creations. They come across as timeless.

This film is about how upper class gossip based on unsubstantiated facts can ruin two couples happiness.

This film is thoughtfully constructed. It has breathtaking scenery, which makes me wonder how long it took the location scouts to find them. It also has great sets, highly visually appealing and suits the tone and setting of the film.

Helen Hunt's acting is great. She plays a flirtatious woman to a great effect. The plot, though I imagine is not original, has a nice twist at the end that makes my heart warm.

Though set in the 1930's, the film does not seem over the top in trying to create a retro feel, unlike the other Scarlett Johansson recent film The Black Dahlia. it is comfortable to watch and heart warming.

I almost didn't bother to see this, but I'm pleased that I did.

As noted by other comment writers, the strength of this film is the two fine performances of Helen Hunt and Tom Wilkinson, especially Wilkinson in the role of Tuppy.

The film suffers the usual foibles of a stage adaptation, with some scenes seeming very contrived, as the characters linger at bars and exchange witticisms. On the other hand the writer and director have made a serious effort to address this problem and succeed in parts, (Lady Windermere and Lord Darlington's stroll through the fish sellers is a memorable example).

I am not familiar with the original play and especially towards the end was quite swept along by the narrative tension, which again was a very pleasant surprise.

So in conclusion, a clever little story, some fine performances and a stack of Wilde's incisive aphorisms on the vagaries of the human condition. What's not too like? It deserves to be widely seen, so get out and see it before it's too late!

I thought I would treat myself to two Scarlett Johansson films this morning and I am glad that I did. As lovely as she was in Lost in Translation, she was dazzling in A Good Woman.

This film requires that you invest your full attention or you will miss most of the really great gems:

"I like America. Name me another society that's gone from barbarism to decadence without bothering to create a civilization in between."

"You're so fond of gossip you don't give the truth a chance to put its pants on."

"Every man is born truthful and every man dies a liar."

"Crying is the refuge of plain women. Pretty women go shopping."

Oh, there were so many many more. That was what was so great about this film - aside from staring at Scarlett, of course. I have always liked Helen Hunt, and she played magnificently here. I remember her fondly from "Mad About You." The only other movie I have seen her in was "As Good as it Gets," but I will be looking for "Bobby" to see her again.

I won't go into the details of the story as that would spoil it for you, suffice it to say that it makes for a very interesting background to this film about love and morals. It is sweet, funny, tender, and imminently fun.

Based on Wilde's work, 'A Good Woman' is a decent enough film to be enjoyed once. Not surprisingly, there are some great clever dialogues. The costumes are very good and the locations are exceptional. The use of subtle comedy with drama is impressive but the drama is not engaging enough to stay in the viewers mind after the film has ended. It is quite easily a forgettable film that can be enjoyed only at the moment. On the technical front, the film is okay. Cinematography is uneven and flat at times. It's great to see Helen Hunt after a long time on screen. She looks a lot older (than she actually was at the time) but at the same time very sensual. However, her nuances do not exactly much the traits of a woman from that time period. Scarlett Johansson has that clueless look that we have witnessed in pretty much everything else she's done. Now the best part of the film is Tom Wilkinson who clearly steals the show with a delightfully endearing comedic performance. As stated earlier, watch this romantic comedy just to enjoy it for the moment. It's much better than the silly fluffy rom-coms so often produced in America.