A 'Veil' of gray

Much like 2005's "The White Countess," "The Painted Veil" takes an excellent cast of actors and places them in tumultuous China during the late 1920s, somehow managing to make the story as bland and boring as possible. \nEdward Norton and Naomi Watts star as Walter and Kitty Fane, a doctor and his wife who leave their London setting to battle a cholera epidemic that breaks out in Shanghai. Upon their arrival, Kitty, bored to tears and disappointed with her marriage, has an affair with local diplomat Charlie Townsend (Liev Schreiber), which Walter is all too aware of. And so Walter declares a proposition to his wife: Come with him to a cholera colony deep in the Yangtze Valley in an attempt to redeem herself or suffer a painful divorce that will leave her in ruins. Obviously, she takes the first offer. \nIn the colony, Kitty faces confusion and oppression, the latter due to a recent uprising by Chinese militants in response to an incident where British officers killed civilians. She wonders if she'd prefer to be killed by these angry locals or find a way to catch the cholera. This dance goes on and on throughout the film like a perpetual waltz, only to ask us at the end: Was it really all worth it? No, Naomi, it wasn't. \nThe film, despite its beautiful cinematography and Golden Globe-winning score from Alexandre Desplat, is flat and moves slower than a raft floating along the Yangtze River -- a trip that might seem serene to some, but is ultimately forgettable after time passes. There is one moment though when everything gels perfectly as we watch Norton and Watts catch each other's eyes for the first time while maneuvering through a dinner party, all to a wonderfully haunting piano tune. \nNo one doubts the fine acting chops that Norton, Watts and Schreiber possess, and they are joined by a charming Toby Jones and underused Anthony Wong. Yet all they do here is fight and fail to make wise decisions, all to the tone of their British accents. \nPerhaps one should blame the dating of the material. "The Painted Veil" is based on W. Somerset Maugham's ancient novel from 1925 and his works have been adapted into films since 1915, the most recent to "Veil" being 2004's equally boring yet flashy "Being Julia." I'm beginning to wonder if his actual written works are as dull as the films they've produced.