The White Countess

It's a very classy, finely made film, and, as one watches it -- particularly those last sweeping scenes of political turbulence and escape -- one feels both pain at their (Merchant-Ivory) parting and grateful for what, together, they achieved.

It offers top actors in Fiennes and Richardson, plus a rare joint appearance by the sisters Redgrave.

Following his triumphs in "The Constant Gardener" and "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," Fiennes is superb as Todd.

The director has staged the elaborate production in his usual stately but impressive manner, and the production values boast the usual Merchant/Ivory stamp of quality.

With its tentative pace, fussy, pieced-together structure and stuffy emotional climate, The White Countess never develops any narrative stamina.

A watchable disappointment. Sumptuous to look at, tastefully dull, and ultimately rather silly.

Alas, The White Countess, the final Merchant Ivory film, is something of a lacquered dud.