A Good Woman (2004)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Film C

  
  its an alright film

• Alice S

  
  The tone of this adaptation is sooo serious and strips away much of Oscar Wilde's bombastic wit. Stephen Campbell Moore is my new It Guy.

• Mark A

  
  Not as literary minded as some who may have previously reviewed this, I will not be comparing this to the Oscar Wilde original on which it was based. It is similar in theme, although with a different moral, to the recent film, Priceless. While this viewer saw Wilde's subtle hand… More
  Not as literary minded as some who may have previously reviewed this, I will not be comparing this to the Oscar Wilde original on which it was based. It is similar in theme, although with a different moral, to the recent film, Priceless. While this viewer saw Wilde's subtle hand behind the script, this film is able to stand on its own. I found it to be quite annoying as various characters made serious judgements and accusations based on little knowledge and a whole lot of imagination. Newly married Meg Windemere (Scarlett Johansson) appears ready to kick her husnband (Stephen Campbell Moore) to the curb for suppposed indescretions with Mrs. Erlynne (Helen Hunt) a notorious gold-digger who has worn out her welcome in other locales. I had to stop and start several times, just to let my frustrations subside. However, staying to the end proved quite rewarding, as all of the various fractures and threads are brought to a most satifying conclusion. As a commentary on contemporary mores it seems a little dated, but was quite an entertaining confection. Tom Wilkinson played Tuppy as a slightly jaded man who nevertheless decided to give love another go with Mrs. Erlynne. Conversation at a party: "Would she even look at you if you were poor?" "Would I even look at her if she were ugly? Fair exchange." Lovely costumes, beautiful sets, two gorgeous women, a terrific supporting cast, and witty dialogue, this one just about had it all.

• Walter M

  
  [font=Century Gothic]In "A Good Woman", it is 1930 when flat broke, professional mistress Stella Erlynne(Helen Hunt) leaves New York for the sunnier climes of Italy where she hopes to land another wealthy benefactor in a land teeming with them. Her prime target is the young… More
  [font=Century Gothic]In "A Good Woman", it is 1930 when flat broke, professional mistress Stella Erlynne(Helen Hunt) leaves New York for the sunnier climes of Italy where she hopes to land another wealthy benefactor in a land teeming with them. Her prime target is the young Robert Windermere(Mark Umbers), married about a year to Meg(Scarlett Johansson).[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"A Good Woman" is a curiously lifeless adaptation of Oscar Wilde's "Lady Windermere's Fan" that really only has Wilde's patented bon mots and Tom Wilkinson's charming performance going for it. The blame lies mostly in the horrendous miscasting of Helen Hunt who is simply dreadful and has always had the sex appeal of a rotten banana.(So, it's not simply her age. After all, Helen Mirren still has it.)[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]What the movie seeks to convey is the lack of opportunities for a woman excommunicated from society in that day and age and who is forced to live on the margins.(But Mrs. Erlynne's profligate spending does not help her cause.) And it also serves as a commentary on society's inability to mind its own business.[/font]

• Naughtia N

  
  I sat down to watch this movie because it was running on tv and I actually enjoyed it very much. Helen Hunt is a gold digger who has got a lot of money from New York husbands and this has damaged her reputation. She then travels to Italy to seek fresh prospects and the gossip soon… More
  I sat down to watch this movie because it was running on tv and I actually enjoyed it very much. Helen Hunt is a gold digger who has got a lot of money from New York husbands and this has damaged her reputation. She then travels to Italy to seek fresh prospects and the gossip soon spreads here too. Here she meets this newlywed US financier with a young and fragile wife. This movie very much illustrates Oscar Wilde's style and I thought it was great. Great acting and a great plot.

• Daisy M

  
  One of Oscar Wilde's most popular plays is given a new screen interpretation in this period comedy. In New York in the early '30s, Mrs. Erlynne (Helen Hunt) is a widow who lives comfortably through the largest of several married men, and when she runs out of wealthy suitors… More
  One of Oscar Wilde's most popular plays is given a new screen interpretation in this period comedy. In New York in the early '30s, Mrs. Erlynne (Helen Hunt) is a widow who lives comfortably through the largest of several married men, and when she runs out of wealthy suitors in Manhattan, she decides to find greener pastures among the wealthy elite of Italy's Amalfi coast. Mrs. Erlynne sets her sights on Robert Windermere (Mark Umbers), a wealthy Englishman who is married to the young, innocent and very beautiful Meg (Scarlett Johansson). Mrs. Erlynne gingerly tries to separate Robert from his wife and his money, fueling suspicions within Amalfi society as well as the audience that they are involved. Humiliated and ready to beat him at his own game, Meg begins to consider the advances of the handsome Lord Darlington (Stephen Campbell Moore), one of her husband's close friends. In the midst of all the attempted infidelity, the genially eccentric Tuppy (Tom Wilkinson) struggles to win Mrs. Erlynne's hand, while only one of the interconnected parties know that she carries a shocking secret. One more of the truly entertaining films I have seen in a long time. I feel this is what true film making and entertainment should aspire to achieve. The performances were amazing and well directed. This film made me feel something in my heart. There are some unforgettable quotes. like : "Every saint has a past. Every sinner has a future." <a href="http://s420.photobucket.com/albums/pp286/ladypink_2009/?action=view&current=flip-11.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i420.photobucket.com/albums/pp286/ladypink_2009/flip-11.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> Helen Hunt gets into the skin of that marked woman that's the epicenter of tons of rumors and gossip. A free soul in a society that's full of hypocrisy and lies. As for Scarlett Johansson, she's the innocent and young wife that wakes up to that world of lies. There's a big secret between them? Every line of Wilde is like a bullet, every look of Mrs. Hunt is like a thousand lives, every curve of Johansson's body is a mortal sin?!! ( so guys, wht are u waiting for ?) <a href="http://s420.photobucket.com/albums/pp286/ladypink_2009/?action=view&current=MV5BMTkyMjY0NzEwNF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTY.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i420.photobucket.com/albums/pp286/ladypink_2009/MV5BMTkyMjY0NzEwNF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTY.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> Well I have to say 5 stars, no doubt, worthy to see,

• Sarah B

  
  Trying to be Noel Coward as well as Oscar Wilde and failing miserably. It's diverting, I'll give it that.

• Moe E

  
  Weak direction and poor casting choices make this screen adaptation of an Oscar Wilde play dull and completely forgettable. Helen Hunt, Mark Umbers and Scarlett Johansson take excellent dialog and give it the emotional impact one would expect from a department store mannequin. Kudos… More
  Weak direction and poor casting choices make this screen adaptation of an Oscar Wilde play dull and completely forgettable. Helen Hunt, Mark Umbers and Scarlett Johansson take excellent dialog and give it the emotional impact one would expect from a department store mannequin. Kudos go to Tom Wilkinson for his excellent performance, as well as the costuming and set designers for their contributions to this snoozer of a film.

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