Deborah Moggach's 1999 novel is the basis for this period
drama set in 17th-century Amsterdam, directed by Justin Chadwick. The abbess
(Judi Dench) of a convent arranges a marriage between a young orphan (Alicia
Vikander) and a wealthy merchant (Christoph Waltz), eager for a son and heir.
Their union is childless, and made more complicated by the arrival of a
struggling artist (Dane DeHaan), who falls for the comely subject of his
painting. Despite a handsome cast, lavish sets, and a script by no less than
Tom Stoppard, the film never transcends above a bodice-ripping soap opera,
venturing dangerously close to soft-porn territory. Mercifully, some consciences
do prevail in the end.
Watch out for: Frequent
premarital, marital and adulterous sex scenes, full nudity and unflattering
references to religion.
Rated: L, limited adult
audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling;
MPAA: R
© Arlington Catholic Herald 2017