Those who have read the book written by W. Somerset Maugham published in 1925 will immediately realise the differences between the movie adaptation and the original novel. The character development of the supposed to be shallow, poorly educated Kitty is very much compressed and the conclusion is missing from the adaptation. The novel portrays the spiritual journey of a woman while the adaptation evens out the focus among Kitty (Naomi Watts) and the passionate, intellectual bacteriologist Walter Fane (Edward Norto), someone whom Kitty married not of love. The movie also manages to bring out the beautiful backdrop of China, something the novel is lack of. It is a trade-off in many ways and both the novel and the movie adaptation are enjoyable in their own ways.

Shortly after the couple arrived in Shanghai (it was Hong Kong in the original novel), Kitty has an affair with a polished, married British official (Liev Shrieber) and as a punishment to either the doctor Walter himself or to his wife or to both (up to your own interpretation), Walter has volunteered to station at the mountain village of Mei-tan-fu that was ravaged by the deadly cholera epidemic bringing along his wife Kitty with him.

Though the plot may not leave a lasting impression, the drama is beautifully acted out by the leading actor and actress Edward Norton and Naomi Watts. The movie captures the landscape, the people, and the culture of the China well. Can a woman falls in love with a man with good virtue, I believe, is one of the movie’s themes.

A 2 hours long of romance and drama is worth watching for those who like this movie genre. For those who are interested in the title of the novel, many believe that it is borrowed from Shelley’s famous sonnet that begins with the lines Lift not the painted veil which those who live call life.

Related Sites: The Painted Veil Official Film Site and Lift not the Painted Veil Which Those Who Live

If you are a big fan of the OC girl Rachel Bilson and if you are a guy, I have good and bad news for you. Good news is, after the movie you will probably go to bed dreaming about that tastefully filmed sex scene of hers. Bad news is that she doesn’t have a lot of air time in this movie.

Jokes aside, “The Last Kiss” was written by Paul Haggis (“Million Dollar Baby” and “Crash”) that aimed to bring out the different facets of relationships through five couples – one who just couldn’t get over his last relationship, one who felt instantly in love with someone in a wedding party and realized that perhaps great sex by itself did not give him enough incentive to move onto the meet-the-parents phase, one who got stuck with a crying baby and a stressed up wife, and of course not to forget to mention Michael (played by Zach Braff from the TV series “Scrub”) who should be happy with his relationship with his girlfriend Jenna – recently pregnant with his baby – but yet he felt that being close to 30 meant that there would be no more surprises in his well-planned life and call it mistiming, he found this young college student Kim (played by none other than Rachel) simply irresistible. Did I mention five couples? Jenna’s parents – 30 years into a dull but not unblemished marriage – played a major role in the plot development as well.

What I really like about “The Last Kiss” is its seamless transition of what different couples have been going through in their relationships that portraits love, temptation, infidelity, forgiveness, marriage, and friendship. In another word, it is highly likely that you may identify yourself with the movie. If you choose to watch this movie, you will see lots of happy moments, sad moments, and heartwarming moments. “The Last Kiss” is not one of those typical Hollywood feel good movie so I suppose it may not be a movie for everyone. Overall, I enjoyed watching it.

What impacted me the most in the movie? If you are willing to give whatever it takes for the relationship to work, that means you should never give up. Because you can’t fail if you don’t give up.