Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

So Greta marries on a whim, and goes off to China with her stiff researcher husband and then feels bored and neglected? What was she expecting over there? This story irritates me; the wife's part is that of a bored, spoiled shrew who jumps at the first man who bats his eyes at her. And that man is the incomparably boring George Brent. Boy, I guess Greta WAS bored. Good grief.I do like Greta here, in fact I like her more in her speaking films than in her silents; she doesn't seem so forced. She is quite natural in this one. The two men are so bland, it hardly matters who they are. Why was there such a dearth of exciting actors in the early 30's at MGM so that they kept using George Brent as a romantic lead? How did he ever get to that point? Also the infamous code makes this movie almost silly, as of course there can be no real love scenes or motives for why she was willing to run off with this man in the first place. They go and look at horses together. And next thing you know, she is throwing her marriage aside. Or trying to anyway.

The best adaptation of Maugham may be "The Letter," but this version of "The Painted Veil," which substantially changes his ending, is very nearly as good-- as subtle, as elegant, and as satisfying as a work of art. Both examine the profound differences and similarities that exist between passion and love, but this film goes deeper, looking at the glory that ensues when, at length, love and passion bloom together.Much credit goes to William Daniels, who was D.P. for directors from Stroheim to Ichikawa to Bud Yorkin. His framing and silvery lighting give even greater weight to the superb performances by Garbo and the masterful Herbert Marshall. Together Daniels and director Boleslawski allow the two actors to deliver the very affecting and very adult dialog with rare dignity and feeling.The two kitchen scenes in particular, one in the first sequence, and one near the end, are flawless, and all the better because of being parallels, and because the dialog employs the sheer force of elemental simplicity. In the second scene,when cholera-fighting Marshall finally speaks of his wife's infidelity, he humbly takes some of the blame, saying, "I went blind… a little mad. But if all the men who were hurt simply quit — bad business." Garbo at last begins to understand and replies, "Being in love, and letting it smash things as I have, I thought it had the right of way, I really did." She finally realizes that passion, such as hers for her lover, can be both deeply felt and utterly shallow.One more note about the visual genius on display. A standard cliché, fireworks,is used to suggest orgasm, but it is done as brilliantly and thrillingly as I've ever seen: three or four bursts of sparks shoot into the frame, like nothing so much as ejaculation.

While this certainly isn't a great film by any standard, it is a pretty good film and is much more watchable into the 21st century than many of Garbo's films (many just seem very old fashioned and contrived today--sorry Garbo fans). Plus, it's also worth seeing just so you can see Greta smile--something you only saw happen in a very few films (such as TWO-FACED WOMAN and NINOTCHKA--two of her last films).Greta plays a bored young lady living in the middle of nowhere. She yearns to see the world and quickly marries newcomer, Herbert Marshall. The intensity of the love isn't really there--she's just anxious to leave and Marshall has a strong infatuation. They return to Marshall's home in Hong Kong where he is a doctor working for the government health services. However, his work keeps him away from home so much that it's no surprise that she falls for a cad, played by George Brent. Brent isn't serious about their divorcing and getting married, but he lies to Greta to string her along. Soon, Marshall finds out and unleashes his anger on her--not accepting that the affair was in a way his fault because he neglected her so. Greta is ashamed and tries to make the best of the marriage--even when the plague takes her and Marshall hundreds of miles into China. Slowly, the wall between them begins to vanish and Garbo begins to appreciate what a great man she has married. And, by the end of the film, the love that never really developed between them is in full bloom. Despite this ending being handled in a bit of a heavy-handed fashion, the ending was very satisfying and I'm glad I saw this film due to its generally excellent writing and acting. In particular, I liked how Garbo did NOT play the silly vamp she often played in earlier films, but was a more three-dimensional and believable woman--a welcome departure from many of her earlier and very, very similar roles.

Spoilers for those quote haven't read the book and seen the movie... WSM's novel is a tragic tale harkening back to the works of Shakespear and featuring simliar traits; love, lust, devotion, betrayal, and in the end death and regret. The film does a good job of capturing most of the novel (though it would have been nice to see a longer film which could have included more of its scenes). However, the end of the film differs greatly from that of the novel. In the novel, Kitty/Katherine never grows to truly love Walter but also never gets to tell him how much she thinks of him, because he dies of cholera. Also, the bit about her being pregnant (most likely with Townsend's child) is not included in the film. It seems the filmmakers decided to trade in that rather bleak ending for the more Hollywood happy ending. So if you've read the novel, you might be a bit disappointed with the great tragedy being traded for a more standard "happily ever after" ending. But most of the rest of the movie is good.7/10