Sometimes a designer movie is enough to satisfy … unless you expect something more. “Memoirs of a Geisha,” based on Arthur Golden’s much-beloved novel, is a designer movie, all precious interiors and art-design neighborhoods and pretty clothes.
I never read the book, but the degree of devotion people have for it suggests that it is more than just a designer read. (Steven Spielberg was going to direct the movie at one point, and he remains one of the producers.) They might be disappointed in the film, but if you lower your sights you might find “Memoirs” a decent piece of eye candy.
The story begins in 1920s Japan, with a young girl sold into apparent slavery and whisked away to a house of geishas. A servant for years, she turns into a beauty and is drafted into being a geisha herself, or at least a maiko, which is a sort of minor-leaguer in the geisha farm system.
The first half-hour is clumsy and patchy, and we barely get to know the children involved. It’s a relief when the teenage heroine – dubbed Sayuri in her new life, and played by Zhang Ziyi -takes center stage.
The broad outlines of the story are drawn. First, Sayuri is groomed by a respected geisha/mentor (Michelle Yeoh). Also, she maintains a rivalry with the wicked Hatsumomo (Gong Li), a great beauty whose cruelty haunted Sayuri’s childhood. (The three principal roles are played by Chinese actresses, not Japanese.)
Most importantly, Sayuri develops an obsession with a courtly businessman, known as the Chairman (Ken Watanabe, from “The Last Samurai”). Based on a single encounter, she determines that he is the man of her future – and that if she treads the path of the geisha, she might end up with him some day.
But wait – what exactly is a geisha? What does this life mean, and how does one become a geisha? These questions might have been the heart of the movie, but screenwriter Robin Swicord has opted for a more generic approach, emphasizing the love story and the catty rivalries of the women.
Based on the movie, I still don’t know exactly what a geisha does – is Sayuri a high-class prostitute, a powdered artist or a platonic escort for wealthy men?
| Eye candy: Based on Arthur Golden’s beloved novel, about a girl abducted into the geisha life, and the success she makes of it. Some good eye candy here, but not much more than a designer movie. With Zhang Ziyi, Gong Li.
Rated: PG-13 rating is for subject matter Now showing: Pacific Place |
Zhang Ziyi is deservedly one of the biggest Asian stars, with “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “House of Flying Daggers,” and “2046” to her credit. She is gorgeous and strong in the lead role, although as “2046” proved, she’s capable of more.
Gong Li (who, like Zhang Ziyi, was a protege of Chinese director Zhang Yimou) has the juicier role, a true bad girl who makes life unpleasant for everybody else. The film’s idealized view of the geisha life needs more of her bitterness.
Director Rob Marshall, who made a splash with his debut film, “Chicago,” proves himself adept at making things look pretty, and surrendering to the soap opera side of the tale. That doesn’t make it a bad movie – soap operas can be fun – but it might have been better.
Zhang Ziyi stars in “Memoirs of a Geisha.”
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