When the film came out a lot of people commented on the way the adaptation shifted the action forward in time to 1910.I was puzzled too but on re-viewing the film it was clear that this was to enable the filmmakers to draw on the more socially aware painting styles of the time. Essentially Kate and Merton are two people who are stuck in the oeuvre of Walter Sickert and want to move upmarket into Whistler territory. But they fail and are doomed to spend the rest of their lives in squalid Camden Town scenes. Incidentally this means there are artistically valid reasons for Helena Bonham Carter getting her kit off--the final scene is pretty much Sickert's "What Shall We Do for the Rent?" with live actors. While this visual metaphor is superbly played out, it is at the expense of James' intricate verbal edifices. The film grates when anyone opens their mouth: as animated paintings, the characters are literally two-dimensional. This is a film which is at its best when no-one is saying anything, and would have worked much better as a silent movie.
Review of The Wings of the Dove
