Her first film Sweetie, from 1989, is the story of two sisters who are misfits in society at large and each other in particular. Next, in 1990, came An Angel at My Table, based on the autobiography of New Zealand author Janet Frame. The third film, The Piano received high acclaim through the world after its release in 1993.

Campion's films are ponderous and often slow. Her heroines are unusual women and their lives are less than ordinary. Campion like dark images and the darker side of human nature.

Her latest and much awaited film, Portrait of a Lady is sadly disappointing to the viewer, but maybe not so to the director. Campion says she knew the film would not be popular, but it was somethinÄg she wanted to do for herself.

The film is based on the novel by Henry James and bears all the characteristic markings of a Campion film, except that its obscure and just plain dull.

But maybe the problem with the film lies not behind the camera, but rather in front. The role of the protagonist, Isabel Archer, is played by Nicole Kidman. Campion's fine career is almost perfectly counterbalanced by Kidman's particularly ordinary one. To date I have not seen anything from Kidman to raise her above my lowest estimation. Even To Die For in which others claim to see her act, I saw nothing.

And in Portrait of a Lady where so much time is spent looking for depth from the lady in question, the time is ill-spent. Far too much time is given to close ups of Kidman in tears, an action as unbelievable as any off-day on a t.v. soap.

The story is unclear and uneventful until the last 10 mCinutes which are as jammed with action as the first 2 hours are devoid of it. The characters lack purpose and reality, almost as if they are two dimensional portraits who are taken from the wall, briefly dusted, then returned to the wall to await their next unexplained appearance. So in the final moments of the film when these characters suddenly start divulging answers to questions no one asked, the result is even more confusing. Were we supposedly puzzled by this inane drivel? Was there ever any mystery?

The ending shot, as enigmatic as the rest of the film, captures Kidman in a snapshot like pose, and therein lies the clue to the problem of this film. Portrait suggests a textured canvas filled with complexity and depth. Campion;s film is little more than a collection of Polaroids that leave no lasting impression.