The English Patient
It is rare indeed for a film to live up to the hype and anticipation that
surrounds it. Based on Michael Ondaatje's Booker Prize-winning best seller
and nominated for 12 Academy Awards, The English Patient is one film that
not only lives up to expectations but surpasses them in every way.
Audiences are swept along on a tide of sumptuous splendour in this
evocative tale of tragic love.Julliette Binoche plays Hana, a young French Canadian nurse near breaking point as World War II draws to a close. Deeply disturbed by the loss of loved ones she is drawn towards her horrifically burned patient portrayed by Ralph Fiennes. Wary of constant travel with the army convoy, Hana takes refuge in an abandoned Italian monastery with her mysterious charge.
While in Hana's care, Fiennes' character recounts his passionate and ultimately destructive affair with the elegant Katherine (Kristin Scott-Thomas), at the outset of the war. Last seen together in Wuthering Heights, Fiennes and Binoche display poignant on-screen chemistry, as they find comfort in each other and make peace with the ghosts that envelop their souls.
Saul Zaentz took an incredible gamble when casting The English Patient, opting for class and talent over bankability. Instead of movie stars to ensure box office returns he has chosen one of the finest collection of actors to appear in a big budget Hollywood film.
Fiennes is magnificent as the aloof cartographer, mesmerised then drawn into a tempestuous affair with his colleague?s wife. Later, as the disfigured patient his character's self effacing charm is delightful. Scott-Thomas gives a timeless and enigmatic performance as the tortured Katherine, torn between the love of her devoted husband and the overpowering passion she feels towards Fiennes' character.
Binoche gives a performance of intense fragility and determined strength. While her relationship with a Sikh soldier tends to pale in comparison with the patient's story, she remains captivating and alluring throughout. Willem Defoe makes a brief but quintessential appearance as the thief Caravaggio, while the support cast features some of Britain's finest actors in cameo roles.
Although visually stunning, director Anthony Minghella has avoided any rose tinted Merchant Ivory-esque sentimentality. While the characters are at times brutal, cruel and selfish, it is perhaps the flaws that will ensure their timeless appeal.
At nearly three hours long, The English Patient may test any fidgets in the audience, but is, without a doubt worth the time. Watching the story unfold is like slowly peeling the wrapping paper away from a precious gift.
Reviewed by Kirstine Brookes
FILM FACTS IN BRIEF
Directed by Anthony Minghella and produced by Saul Zaertz.
Based on the book of the same name by Michael Ondaatje.
Starring Ralph Fiennes, Julliette Binoche and Kristin Scott-Thomas.
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