The American

Disc one of Henry James Collection. My heart goes out to everyone who has to adapt a James novel for the screen. Henry James played his cards so close to his chest that it's hard for contemporary viewers to understand what's going on, even if they can adjust to Victorian moral standards. Just what is happening in those frequent tense interviews at the Bellegarde house between Christopher and these aristocrats? To make everybody's motives clear requires taking liberties--sometimes great liberties--with the novel. I was pretty content with the results, even though they made me think of Geoffrey Rush and Kate Winslet in QUILLS at times.

Matthew Modine is an actor I've always liked, and here he doesn't disappoint me. He plays this modernized script as though he was born to it. I especially savoured his reaction to the degenerate Count that Mme de Bellegarde wants Claire to marry. Diana Rigg as the mother is doing a variation of Lady Dedlock in Bleak House; effective enough but it's a weak part. Aisling O'Sullivan as Claire looks pretty but lacks dramatic intensity. This is for Henry James completists who can overlook the melodramatic touches.