“A garden is a celebration of art’s triumph over nature.”
“The Serpent’s Kiss” is a costume drama set in England at the end of the 17th century. Landscape designer Meneer Chrome (Ewan Macgregor) is employed to create a garden for Thomas Smithers (Pete Postlethwaite). Wife, Juliana Smithers (Greta Scacchi) has a bit of a wandering eye, and so far her eyes have roamed towards her foppish cousin, James Fitzmaurice (Richard E Grant). Fitzmaurice once courted Juliana, but he lost her to the wealthier Smithers. Fitzmaurice is responsible for Smithers employing Chrome, and it seems that this is all part of a shady plot of revenge.
A wilderness currently exists to the rear of the family mansion, and Chrome is employed to tame this wilderness and to design and create a spectacular garden. While planning the garden, Chrome becomes involved with daughter Thea Smithers. Thea (Carmen Chaplin), who also calls herself Anna, is a strange creature. She’s apparently considered quite mad by her family. She’s obsessed by Metaphysical poet Andrew Marvell, and quotes lines from “To His Coy Mistress.”
I read several professional reviews that compared “The Serpent’s Kiss” to Peter Greenaway’s film “The Draughtsman’s Contract.” I see no such similarity beyond the period in which the films are set, and the fact that garden designs are involved. “The Serpent’s Kiss” is a luke-warm love story, plonked onto the top of an implausible revenge plot. The villain–James Fitzmaurice–isn’t villainous enough, and the plan of revenge is far-fetched, tepid and unlikely. Surely there are better ways to enact revenge upon the husband of one’s lover than to make him build a really expensive garden. The planning and creation of the garden just seems like a pretty way to delve into the plot and create the false impression that we are enjoying authenticity here. And yes, to be honest, the creation of the garden is one of the more interesting aspects of the film. Other fascinating tidbits here include Thea’s so-called medical treatments (including leeches) and the supernatural elements within the film. There is a deeper meaning to the story, but it seems to be created as rather an afterthought. I really wanted to like the film more for the slivers of originality it displayed, but unfortunately, overall the film was bogged down by mediocrity and the tepid love story.
