Vanity Fair (2004)
Country: US/GB
Technical: col/Super 35 141m
Director: Mira Nair
Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Eileen Atkins, Jim Broadbent, Gabriel Byrne, Romola Garai, Bob Hoskins, Rhys Ifans, Geraldine McEwan, James Purefoy, Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Synopsis:
The orphaned daughter of an artist and a singer is raised as a serving girl at a finishing school, goes to work as governess for a minor league peer and begins her calculated rise up the social ladder by secretly marrying the son and favourite. She discovers, however, that happiness is not to be found among the nobility, just as her best friend is frustrated in her search for love.
Review:
Spirited and characterful abridging of a classic with modern trimmings (the wardrobe and hairdressings, the use of Indian music and trappings to denote carefree sensuality). Inevitably much hangs on the central performance, and it is undoubtedly her best to date, though there are a few felicities amongst the supporting cast when the actors are not allowed to tip into self-parody. Above all it is a visual feast, no small achievement in itself, but less lasting in its impact than a truly faithful rendering of the novel's rich tapestry.
Country: US/GB
Technical: col/Super 35 141m
Director: Mira Nair
Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Eileen Atkins, Jim Broadbent, Gabriel Byrne, Romola Garai, Bob Hoskins, Rhys Ifans, Geraldine McEwan, James Purefoy, Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Synopsis:
The orphaned daughter of an artist and a singer is raised as a serving girl at a finishing school, goes to work as governess for a minor league peer and begins her calculated rise up the social ladder by secretly marrying the son and favourite. She discovers, however, that happiness is not to be found among the nobility, just as her best friend is frustrated in her search for love.
Review:
Spirited and characterful abridging of a classic with modern trimmings (the wardrobe and hairdressings, the use of Indian music and trappings to denote carefree sensuality). Inevitably much hangs on the central performance, and it is undoubtedly her best to date, though there are a few felicities amongst the supporting cast when the actors are not allowed to tip into self-parody. Above all it is a visual feast, no small achievement in itself, but less lasting in its impact than a truly faithful rendering of the novel's rich tapestry.
Country: US/GB
Technical: col/Super 35 141m
Director: Mira Nair
Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Eileen Atkins, Jim Broadbent, Gabriel Byrne, Romola Garai, Bob Hoskins, Rhys Ifans, Geraldine McEwan, James Purefoy, Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Synopsis:
The orphaned daughter of an artist and a singer is raised as a serving girl at a finishing school, goes to work as governess for a minor league peer and begins her calculated rise up the social ladder by secretly marrying the son and favourite. She discovers, however, that happiness is not to be found among the nobility, just as her best friend is frustrated in her search for love.
Review:
Spirited and characterful abridging of a classic with modern trimmings (the wardrobe and hairdressings, the use of Indian music and trappings to denote carefree sensuality). Inevitably much hangs on the central performance, and it is undoubtedly her best to date, though there are a few felicities amongst the supporting cast when the actors are not allowed to tip into self-parody. Above all it is a visual feast, no small achievement in itself, but less lasting in its impact than a truly faithful rendering of the novel's rich tapestry.