Word: jamesian
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...takes the Gospel According to Matthew fewer than 50 lines to deal with Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness, about double the length of the following un-King Jamesian summary: the newly baptized Galilean retreats to the Judean desert where he is mocked and enticed by the devil; Jesus does not take the bait; he won't turn stones into bread because man does not live by bread alone; he won't jump from the temple tower to prove his divinity because it is forbidden to presume God's protection; finally, he rejects the Faustian bargain--the world's riches...
...easiest book to translate into film," says director Iain Softley of Henry James's The Wings of the Dove. Ring one up for the classic literary under-statement of the year. The notoriously dense late-Jamesian style, elliptical dialogue, and near-obsessive concentration on internal thoughts and consciousness guarantee an uphill battle in achieving upper-end-mainstream/borderline elite moviegoer appeal. Softley and screen-writer Hossein Amini have succeeded in crafting an intensely physical adaptation that takes enough sweeping liberties and simplifications to make James scholars cringe or shrug, but retains sufficient subtlety and sensitivity to be dramatically compelling...
...matchless Helena Bonham-Carter), is confronted with conflicting demands of a secret engagement to a penniless journalist (Linus Roache) and a wealthy aunt who wants her to marry well. Into the midst of this crisis sails Milly Theale (Alison Elliott), an ingenuous American visitor who--in true Jamesian form--happens to be encumbered with an enormous fortune. Milly becomes friends with Kate, but also falls in love with Kate's fiance, Merton Densher, not knowing of the clandestine relationship. She invites him to come with her and Kate to Venice, and he does so--at Kate's urging. For Kate...
...what went wrong. Possibly the director, Agnieszka Holland, was simply overwhelmed by these very potent performers, unable to discipline their work. Possibly the fact that English is her second language (she is Polish and the creator of the very powerful Europa Europa) rendered her impervious to, or nervous about, Jamesian nuance...
Just now, James has plenty of chance to advise her readers on all matters Jamesian, moving from readings in Boston to singings in Toronto. What does she think of touring...