“AFTER THE WEDDING”

*

(PG-13, 1:50)

A supreme example of classed-up mediocrity, “After the Wedding,” a pointless remake of Susanne Bier’s 2007 melodrama of the same name, offers little new and a lot that’s predictable. What has changed in the intervening years is us: The economic and political environment into which this new version drops might cause us to view its plot through more cynical eyes.

To no obvious benefit — and some logical detriment — the genders of the central characters have been flipped. The film’s emotional tone is cooler and more restrained, as if tainted by the brittle self-interest of its most vivid character, Theresa (Julianne Moore). The owner of a thriving media company, Theresa occupies a luxurious Long Island estate with her dreamy sculptor husband, Oscar (Billy Crudup).

By contrast, saintly Isabel (Michelle Williams) spends her days serenely meditating in an Indian slum and tending a teeming orphanage. When Theresa summons her to New York, dangling a possible multimillion-dollar donation to the orphanage, Isabel is peeved to learn she must also attend the wedding of Theresa’s daughter, Grace (a very sweet Abby Quinn), though she would much rather take the money and run.

Written and directed by Moore’s husband, Bart Freundlich, “After the Wedding” buffs poverty and philanthropy to the same high gloss as Theresa’s furniture. As wedding-reception revelations and plot twists pile up, Freundlich, as if fearing to revel in the soapiness of his setup, repeatedly tamps down the conflict. As a result, what should be a volcano of betrayal and acrimony never fully erupts; even Moore’s brief meltdown feels staged.

The original “Wedding” was a more unruly affair; this one is creamy and languid, with Julio Macat’s camera soaring above trees and kissing glowing skins. The movie juxtaposes rich and poor, selfish and selfless, motherhood and its substitute. But its characterizations are hollow and its ethics questionable, the cruel manipulation of Isabel softened and, ultimately, forgiven.

“After the Wedding” is a movie that openly admires the casual ability of the rich to purchase whatever they want, including other people’s dreams.

© 2019 The New York Times Company