The Painted Veil
Just finished watching The Painted Veil, the Edward Norton/Naomi Watts movie about a doctor(Norton) who, after learning his flighty wife, Kitty(Watts) is having an affair, relocates them to a rural village in China who needs a doctor to treat a cholera outbreak.
The move is part punishment and part attempt at salvaging their marriage. Walter's removing Kitty from the parties a stylish, flirting men and many distractions that she loves, but he's also taking her away from the things that caused her to stray. It's actually very easy to see how Kitty ended up cheating-she's a very modern(for her times) girl and very freespirited and flighty, and Walter is very serious and down-to-earth and, compared to the men she's used to, seemingly dull. Left to their own devices, it's entirely possible that Kitty and Walter would have become friends and eventually more, however, Kitty's father approached his acquaintance with Walter and Kitty and Walter's meeting like a father of his own youth would have, and the choice is taken away from Kitty, leaving her with a marriage she didn't want(and really, it's not that Kitty dislikes Walter or wants to hurt him, it's just that she didn't choose him and, at the time, didn't love him-when he tells her he's moving to the countryside, but hasn't yet learned he's taking her with him, she's clearly concerned about his safety and worried about him, and when she's worried-rightly-that he's learned about her affair, she's concerned because she knows that, while she doesn't love him, he does love her). Not RIGHT by any means, but it's easy to see how she ended up doing it.
Usually, I won't touch a movie, book, etc. where adultery is a key plotpoint, but this one came pretty highly recommended and it did sound interesting, so I checked it out. It was excellent, and, aside from the cast and the visuals(the cinematography is gorgeous), what makes it succeed is that the story is kept simple and never tries to impose morals or directoral opinions on us. While Kitty and Walter have opinions about their actions, the movie doesn't favor either viewpoint or try to tell us that either one is right or wrong-we know Kitty was wrong to cheat on a husband who treated her well because he bored her, the movie sees no reason to constantly remind us of the fact or to paint her as a whore who messed up or Walter as cruel or unforgiving because he took her away from the things she loved and chose a route he enjoyed but she would hate to reach their new home. She screwed up, he was mad, life has to continue.
Hmmm...between this and North and South, I'm having good luck with period movies this week. *tosses Pan's Labyrinth and One Night With the King in the bag to take back to the parents with her*