I really like the fact Susan Sarandon and James Spader teamed up together because they did make a good fine couple. I liked the fact they had steamy sex scene's, it reminds us regardless of age, you will always find love. Now the reason why I gave this movie a 7/10 because, I didn't like how Sarandon's character Nora, was being a complete smart *** and just a slob. I would rather see the personality more calmer and more smarter, Sarandon should've been better off if she did act that way for the film!Apart from that complaint, it was an alright movie!

We're (justifiably) a little (or a lot) disgusted when a film blatantly panders to creepy old men: middle aged protagonist scores hot woman in her early 20s. Ew.That's exactly what we're looking at here, except with swapped genders and an extra layer of obnoxiousness. Susan Sarandon and James Spader are excellent actors, and their performances *almost* save it from the source material.Almost. I would have a hard time believing that ANY self respecting guy would put up with being treated like Sarandon's character treats Spader's. We're supposed to look at her as noble but unrefined, but honestly, she's just selfish, childish and manipulative. There's no sense that Spader's character has anything to learn from this experience, outside of how shallow his friends are. He could have learned that with any "unacceptable" woman: making the woman in question genuinely unappealing is silly.When you add the younger man/older woman aspect to it, the movie gets downright creepy. We're clearly expected to think that Spader's character has come down to Earth and recognized what's really important, but the only thing the movie proves is that (maybe) he's a masochist in search of a sadist. If you removed Sarandon's character's difference in age, coarse language, and casual racism, you'd still have someone I wouldn't want to be in the room with: I'd have a difficult time believing that Spader would tolerate her character if if she were a hot 19 year old. If she HAD been a hot 19 year old, you could keep everything else and she'd be the spoiled child that the hero got AWAY from, not the one he runs TO.There are only two explanations that make any kind of sense. One, the film wants to bash poor, middle aged women (no.) Two, it wants to feed a middle aged, female audience the same kind of obnoxious wish fulfillment that middle aged male audiences get with the four decade age difference between Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones in Entrapment. It's creepy there, and it's creepy here.Every aspect of this film is based on seeing Sarandon's character's world as preferable to Spader's, and it absolutely is not...not because of disrespect to older women, poor women, or unrefined women, but because she's simply irritating. The fact that there is a 20 year disparity to Entrapment's 40 says more about Hollywood's tolerance of old men than it does about its condescension towards older women: this movie screws up so badly that in some scenes the shallow rich people are considerably more sympathetic than the "earthy" heroine.I suppose that middle aged women are every bit as entitled to wish fulfillment as middle aged men, but creepy is creepy. When you spend more time thinking about the film's target audience than you do about the film, it's a failure (just like Entrapment, actually.)

This movie is interesting to watch if not particularly original. At its core is the relationship of a young man (Max, played by Spader) of high social standing with a poor, much older woman (Nora, played by Sarandon). Both of them have experienced loss (his wife died & her son died), and they waste their lives in self pity and mourning, not being able to let go. Being in a similar situation, they recognize each other for what they are and after a chance encounter develop a firstly sexual and then increasingly romantic relationship. But problems arise for them, because of the social and age differences, which are the main twists in the romance.The White Palace is a basically a simple love story, with above average acting (Sarandon and Spader both have their high and low points) and moderately interesting characters. I gave it six stars, but in a good way, since the movie does well what it attempts to do, which is good, romantic entertainment without breaking new ground.

A great film which I recently caught up with again on TV. The performances by Susan Sarandon and James Spader were top-rate which made their respective characters quite believable. It always makes me wonder why such gems of acting (among many others that one could think about) never appear in the Oscar nomination lists.However, one minor caveat. When you watch it again for the nth time, look out for the left front headlamp of "Max's" Volvo which he smashed up against "Nora's" outside post-box at the beginning of the film. Halfway through it appears to have been repaired, only to reappear after that in its early damaged state.Definitely one to watch again.