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Reese Witherspoon,
Reese Witherspoon,
Romola Garai,
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Mira Nair,
Mira Nair
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: Universal Studios
: Drama, Costume Drama/Period Piece
: 141 min.
: English, French
: English, Spanish, French
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William Makepeace Thackeray's witty assessment of the British class system, as seen through the experiences of one young woman, is brought to the screen with some serious star power in this period comedy drama. Becky Sharp (Reese Witherspoon) is a bright and ambitious girl born to a poor British family. Becky is determined to make something of herself however she can, and after accepting a job as a nanny for the children of the powerful and aristocratic Sir Pitt Crawley (Bob Hoskins), she wastes no time ingratiating herself with the family. Pretty Becky catches the eye of Crawley's handsome and eligible son Rawdon (James Purefoy), and becomes chummy with sharp-tongued Aunt Matilda (Eileen Atkins). Between the two of them, Becky is introduced to London's most exclusive social circle, where she becomes re-acquainted with Amelia Sedley (Romola Garai), a former school chum who is amused by Becky's efforts to scale the ladder of social influence. Becky weds Rawdon, but following initial happiness, the social and economic stability she dreamed of begins to collapse when he begins drowning his troubles in gambling and drink, and soon she turns to the powerful Marquess of Steyne (Gabriel Byrne) for support. Meanwhile, Amelia's fortunes fall even harder following the death of her husband. Vanity Fair was directed by Mira Nair, who enjoyed a surprise international success with 2002's Monsoon Wedding. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
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| Most entertaining of the Vanity Fair versions
by highgrove
November 4, 2007 - 1:49 PM PST
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1 out of 2 members found this review helpful
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I've seen all the versions of Vanity Fair available on either video or DVD, and this one, more than any of them, made me finally want to read the book, which I somehow managed to miss during my undergraduate and Master's degree studies as an English major. It was so much more vivid than any of the previous versions, and had such marvelous support casting, including Bob Hoskins as Lord Crawley, Eileen Atkins as his sister Tilly (her performance reminded me very much of Lady Catherine de Burgh in Pride and Prejudice), and Gabriel Byrnes as Lord Sleyne. Its Indian director, Mira Nair, also brought in Indian elements of the novel that had not been emphasized in previous versions, and gave it a fresh, modern aspect that was very appealing. Be sure you run the film again to listen to the director's commentary, which has a great deal of information about
the locations where the film was shot, including the fact that they were able to shut down the city of Bath for four days and nights to recreate Regency London!
Bonus features on the film also include a couple of short documentaries, one of which focuses on the fact that not only the director, but the producer, costume designer, set designer, and technical crew were largely women--a very rare experience in itself. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 6.24)
63 Votes
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