The Painted Veil

The Painted Veil is a drama set in the 1920s about a British bacteriologist, Dr. Walter Fane, and his wife Kitty, whose marriage was not built on mutual love. After the couple settles in Shanghai for Walter's work, Kitty begins an affair with Charlie Townsend, the British vice-consul. When Walter learns of the betrayal, he forces Kitty to accompany him to a remote part of China, where a cholera epidemic is killing the local population. Isolated together in a place far from the life she knew, Kitty is confronted with her husband's dedication to his work and with the consequences of her choices. The story adapts W. Somerset Maugham's novel.

John Curran directed the film, the first in a chronological run that continues with Stone, Tracks, Chappaquiddick and Mercy Road. Ron Nyswaner wrote the screenplay. Edward Norton and Naomi Watts play the couple and also served as producers alongside Bob Yari; the cast includes Liev Schreiber, Toby Jones, Diana Rigg and Anthony Wong.

Released in December 2006, the film had a budget of 19 million US dollars and took about 27 million worldwide, a modest return. On IMDb it holds 7.4 out of 10 from roughly 100,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.3 from around 1,300 votes, while critics gave it 7.3 from 141 reviews, placing professional and audience assessments closely together.