What hath Merchant & Ivory wrought?

Thanks to the popularity of such films as "Howard's End" and "Remains of the Day," costume dramas were fashionable toward the end of the 20th century.

Unfortunately, in the few years that followed, the quality of such films — even by those masters of the form, Merchant & Ivory — has begun to slide. Consequently, we've seen a lot fewer films like "A Room with a View" and a lot more like "Bride of the Wind."

This clunky biographical drama is yet another example of a movie that seems much longer than it actually is (though the movie runs less than two hours, it feels more like four). It's also incredibly superficial and clinically icy, with characters who act so aloof that it's hard to care about what happens to them.

But the real shame here is that "Bride of the Wind" provides further evidence of the continuing slide of director Bruce Beresford, who's made one bad decision after another since, arguably, hitting his career high point with 1989's "Driving Miss Daisy."

Among his very biggest mistakes in "Bride of the Wind" may have been casting Australian actress Sarah Wynter as the title character, Austrian libertine Alma Schindler, who acted as muse for Austrian composer Gustav Mahler (Jonathan Pryce).

Even though her constant encouragement brought out the best in Mahler, their subsequent union was threatened because she felt he was stifling her creativity (as noted in the film, Alma was a composer in her own right, though most of her pieces were not performed until after her first husband's death).

So she began a series of dalliances with other artists of the time, including German architect Walter Gropius (Simon Verhoeven), painter Oskar Kokoschka (Vincent Perez) and writer Franz Werfel (Gregor Seberg) — all of whom profited from her unique guidance.

There's no question that Alma Schindler was a fascinating person — one probably deserving of a film — but first-time screenwriter Marilyn Levy's screenplay never offers any valuable insights into her personality.

Much of the blame also has to go to the rather uncharismatic Wynter and to Beresford, who is unable to coax even the slightest bit of emotion out of her. Consequently, it's hard to believe any of these men could have been captivated by her. (That may explain why such usually dependable actors as Pryce and Perez seem to be cardboard here.)

"Bride of the Wind" is rated R for full female and partial male nudity, scenes of simulated sex, wartime violence (including a stabbing), scattered use of ethnic slurs and brief gore. Running time: 99 minutes.

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