'Veil' in need of a lift

December is the month when undiscovered movie gems are found.

A band of critics might rise in support, a movie studio may make a last-minute sprint, or a top awards organization could herald an unfamiliar triumph. But what happens when none of that happens?

The makers of "The Painted Veil" are about to find out.

Without much fanfare and limited media spending, Warner Independent Pictures is set to release the adaptation of the 1925 W. Somerset Maugham novel on Wednesday in New York and Los Angeles. It's the kind of sophisticated and emotional movie that tends to flourish at year's end: It stars Edward Norton and Naomi Watts, was filmed in spectacular locations throughout China and has at its center a redemptive love story that leaves many moviegoers in tears. Ten years ago, Harvey Weinstein's Miramax Films, which waged many a battle on behalf of such exceptional indie fare, would have fought to the death to make it a best picture contender.

But "The Painted Veil" is currently generating so little attention that half a dozen people associated with the film are starting to complain. Even one prominent film critic has questioned the handling of the film.

"Nobody can understand why Warner Independent Pictures is keeping this movie such a secret; it is filled with Oscar possibilities that should be shouted from the rooftops," Rex Reed wrote in his New York Observer review.

"I don't think we feel that we've been abandoned," Norton says. "But you want to hope that the film will have a chance."

The actor has more at stake than simply starring in the film as bacteriologist Dr. Walter Fane. As one of the producers, Norton spent the better part of seven years bringing "The Painted Veil" to the screen — personally recruiting Watts, supervising screenplay revisions with writer Ron Nyswaner and hiring director John Curran.

Bob Yari, who financed last year's best picture winner "Crash" and also backed "The Painted Veil" from the start, says the "Painted Veil" situation reminds him of what he went through last year.

"With 'Crash' and the Golden Globes, we didn't get a lot of attention," Yari says. "And we kind of thought at that point, 'Wow, the momentum doesn't look good.' But we were wrong. I'm not ready to write 'The Painted Veil' off. But it's a tough battle."

In Thursday's nominations for the 64th annual Golden Globes, "The Painted Veil" received just one, for best original score by Alexandre Desplat, who also was honored by the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. The film received two nominations from the Independent Spirit Awards and was named one of the year's Top 10 films by the National Board of Review, which also honored its screenplay.

Warner Independent Pictures, the art house division of Warner Bros., says it has worked tirelessly to publicize and market the film.

"We have been busting our asses on this movie," says Laura Kim, the division's marketing and publicity head. Beyond the two cities the film will debut in, Warner Independent plans on bringing "The Painted Veil" to 23 more markets on Dec. 29, with additional cities added Jan. 5.

Schedule cited

Kim says award and media recognition for the film was slowed by the film's post-production schedule. Delivery of the completed film was originally expected in late summer; instead it was not finished until November. With other studios duplicating hundreds of their movies into DVDs for awards organizations, "The Painted Veil" had to take a number at the lab; "Painted Veil" screeners did not go out until Tuesday.