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As Good As It Gets

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

I'm afraid a lot in America won't get the significance of The Serpent's Kiss as far as the gardens were concerned. At the point of time that this film is depicting 1699 in the reign of William I in Great Britain, the rich nobility even the nouveau rich that Peter Postlethwaite is portraying had this passion for ornate gardens. It was a style trend among those who could afford it. King Louis XIV in France designed the best for Versailles and everyone tried to copy him. So Postlethwaite who is a munitions manufacturer by trade and rich because of it has to have the most ornate garden in the kingdom so he can proclaim his status to the world.Enter Ewan MacGregor who plays a Dutch designer of gardens, he even worked for William of Orange. He goes to work for Postelthwaite and his wife Greta Sacchi to do his own version of Versailles and he's encouraged in this by Sacchi's cousin Richard Grant who has more than a passing interest in this project. It's his hope to bankrupt Postelthwaite and in turn win Sacchi for himself. Grant got something on MacGregor and he forces MacGregor to help him in his designs.Without the ornate status symbol garden Postelthwaite may still go bankrupt as he has an ill daughter in Carmen Chaplin and he's paying some heavy duty bills to quack doctors for her care.Some really fine mansion gardens in the UK that are great tourist attractions still serve as the backdrop of a most aesthetically pleasing film. Things don't quite work out for the plotter Grant and the people he uses and the ones he plots against. But that you see the film for.If you understand the concept that in 1699 those ornate gardens were a status symbol than The Serpent's Kiss will make sense to you.

I have read the preceding reviews which offer good summaries and some thoughtful insights into the movie which I agree is beautiful visually and has a fascinating and challenging plot. I am surprised that no-one has mentioned the poems of Andrew Marvell(1621-1678) which I believe permeate the film, especially "The Garden" and "To His Coy Mistress". I probably missed some references myself but there were actually quotes from at least one of these poems. For example "Let us roll all our strength and all/Our sweetness up into one ball/And tear our pleasures with rough strife/Thorough the iron gates of life;/Thus though we cannot make our sun/Stand still, yet we will make him run." The other poem, "The Garden" , though too long to quote here could well stand as a model for major themes in the film and there are also some echoes of the Mower poems of Marvell. A minor comment relating to Ewan McGregor's character Chrome is that, although he is clearly identified as Dutch, reviewers unanimously call him Meneer Chrome as if that is his given name rather than mijnheer, Dutch for mister or sir. Finally, is is too far fetched to identify the reflexive symbol of the serpent's kiss with the fate of Fitzmaurice who, after being essentially the instigator of all the action, inadvertently poisons himself.

Thomas (Pete Postlethwaite) and his beautiful wife, Julianna (Greta Scacchi) live in England around the beginning of the 19th century. They used to reside in town but have since moved to a large estate in the country. This has upset Julianna, as she loves company, games, and excitement. To help smooth things over, Thomas plans to have a gorgeous formal garden installed near the house for Julianna'e enjoyment and as a place for her to entertain guests. He hires Meneer (Ewan McGregor) to plan the gardens, at almost unlimited expense. Secretly, however, Meneer is not the famous gardener he is supposed to be but, rather, an impostor. A cousin of Julianna's (Richard E. Grant) has arranged for Meneer to pose as the horticulture expert because he wants the young gardener to bleed the finances of Thomas dry, to settle old scores. Thomas and Julianna have a beautiful only child, a daughter, Anna (Carmen Chaplin), for since Anna's birth, Julianna has been barren. Anna is decidedly independent and outspoken and often chooses to walk the grounds by herself. This causes her father to believe she may have mental problems and he subjects Anna to a doctor's unusual and unorthodox treatments. Anna has strong feelings, too, about whether the natural beauty of the grounds should be sacrificed for a contrived showplace of formal gardens. So, how will this garden grow? Will Meneer complete his mission or will he be found out? This is a lovely film, with a nice cast and a terrific, unusual story. Although set back in time, the tale shows quite well how human nature changes very little over the years. Money lust, deceit, and revenge are as natural as breathing, for some folks, causing suffering to those around them. As the main heavy, Grant is wonderfully evil while Postlethwaite, Scacchi, and McGregor fulfill their roles nicely. Chaplin, however, although very pretty, gives a rather weak performance overall. As for the scenery and the costumes, they are of the finest caliber, making for a view that is visually compelling, and the direction is faultless. Why not kiss off the mundane entertainment choices, of an evening, and watch this captivating, gorgeous, extraordinary film instead? You will most likely pat yourself on the back for doing so.

I found this movie to be a bit slow moving at times, but it was packed with great performances, particularly those of McGregor and Postlewait. The story was interesting, but I think it would have been better had they spent more time on development of the story. Or perhaps made it a short film.