Edward Norton and Naomi Watts are surprising in each new role that they take on. The two bring a few surprises with their newest movie "The Painted Veil" -- like fact that they not only starred in the film, but they also produced it. There was no better time for their collaboration; "The Painted Veil" comes off as a beautiful, touching film.

The film, a period piece set in the 1920s, starts out in medias res as Walter and Kitty Fane (Norton and Watts) sit in the rain waiting for an escort to take them to a tiny village in the wilderness of China. Through flashbacks, the audience learns why and how the newlyweds ended up where they were.

Their courtship really didn't start out as a dream and the beginnings of their marriage wasn't heaven on earth either. It's a marriage for all the wrong reasons, Walter, a doctor with a focus on bacteria, falls in love with Kitty after only a glimpse and for Kitty, a privileged girl who would do anything to get away from her mother, Walter is her godsend.

But it's a loveless marriage. Kitty is unfaithful. She has a fling with Charlie Townsend (Liev Schreiber) and Walter finds out. He whisks her away from Charlie to a small town in China overcome by a cholera epidemic. It's no place for a woman, and everyone knows that, but Walter refuses to let her out of his sight. He's punishing her while still keeping her near him.

There's a transformation in progress for all those involved though. The epidemic and those it's affecting become more important than infidelity and a need for revenge.

"The Painted Veil" is based on the novel of the same name by W. Somerset Maugham. It's a film that deals with many serious subjects - a relationship, cholera and the Chinese revolution to name a few.

The characters of Walter and Kitty each get their chance in the driver's seat of their relationship. Kitty begins as she's the one deciding whether or not to marry Walter and she was able to bend him to her will. But then as her infidelity is discover, she becomes the passenger as Walter makes all the decisions and takes on a strength he never had.

While the seriousness of the movie was at the forefront, there are also times that one had to laugh. There were plenty of lighthearted moments, like times when Kitty would decide to go into the town and had to be followed by an adorably, bumbly Chinese guard. But then there were times that were serious, but laughs were called for. Walter would hurl biting comments at Kitty at times in their conversations that were so far out of left field that they were funny. They fit the conversation but it was a bit of a shock to hear him say these things.

The star power of Norton and Watts makes the movie. They are both so enchanting on screen, whether apart or together.

Also stealing scenes are Schreiber. He and Watts' characters engage each other right away and a story he tells during performance much like Japanese Kabuki makes him seem more suited for her character. Toby Jones also takes on a hefty role as Waddington, a confidant for the couple and the man in charge for the British in the small town.

"The Painted Veil's" story has something -- whether it be the sadness of the situation or the characters you feel for -- that will draw viewers in. There are certain predictable elements, but they are needed in order to have the satisfying ending.