"Vanity Fair" is definitely a movie that generates interest to anyone who watches it (yes, after watching it), or, in my case, awakens the interest a person had lost. The last movie that really caught my attention was "Match Point" and coincidentally this piece has some aspects in common with Allen's thriller.
This film is not a thriller, but there's thriller to be found many times; in the words of some characters, in the looks of others or in the tension of an environment. The fact that it is set in the early 1900's also helps; it accentuates a level of formality the film employs.
It connects to "Match Point" because instead of being a man, a woman the one who wants to be part of the highest level of society. Becky Sharp's (Reese Whiterspoon) lost her father and mother when little, and has been educated working as a servant. However, she's cultured, capable OK being liked with the right comments at the proper time.
We see it first when she goes to work with her friend Amelia's (Romola Garai) family. Amelia tells Becky that her brother Jos (Tony Maudsley) is lonely and loves the India; so Becky starts talking about how incredible India and her flavors are for her. The consequences are, among others, trying something more than spicy.
But those are the consequences at first; simple things. But life can get complicated; a person can get greedy and not measure or realize where the lime is. Becky's life is a journey worth experiencing; meeting people like Sir Pitt (Bob Hoskins) and his family, the severe Mr. Osborne (Jim Broadbent), his son George (from "Match Point", Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and his friend Dobbin (Rhys Ifans), the unique Matilda Crawley (Eileen Atkins) and the peculiar Marquess of Steyne (Gabriel Byrne).
The mentioned above are people Becky took or could have taken advantage of. However, she also met and married Rawdon Crawley (James Purefoy), she ran away from a big fortune, had a child and even cried while saying her husband goodbye ("I'm a woman in love, aren't I?"); things that you don't expect her to do once you have watched the film for a while.
Mira Nair, the director, directed "The Perez Family" more than one decade ago. That one was a movie that understood the importance of all the characters, as does "Vanity Fair". Nair doesn't write much; but observes carefully. Her writers for this project were three (Mathew Faulk, Mark Skeet, Julian Fellowes), basing their screenplay on a novel by W. M. Thackeray.
The screenplay manages the language it has to manage and it makes the characters talk beautifully. The costume design by Beatrix Aruna Pasztor and the music by Mychael Danna are little details that help setting the very old chronology of the film. The screenplay also takes a lot of turns and travels through a lot of places.
But Reese Whiterspoon can handle all that very well. We feel her presence even when she's not being shown by the camera. Her transformation is remarkable. All of the transformations are great; all of the characters matter and you can make a quite short description of each of them. Bob Hoskins is perfect, Jim Broadbent is classy, Gabriel Byrne is limitedly good, Eileen Atkins is a blast.
Though two performances highlight the most; first: James Purefoy, who has been in my radar for a long time but I haven't seen him as long as I appreciated him here. He is solid. Last: Rhys Ifans. Yes, that guy who got naked in "Human Nature" and "Nothin Hill" experiences the time changes better than any other and acquires a big range of expression; he's marvelous.
The story ends interestingly You want good things for Becky, as long as she's good and honest to herself; and she hasn't been. In fact, being like that is the best (better only) way of living life.
This film is not a thriller, but there's thriller to be found many times; in the words of some characters, in the looks of others or in the tension of an environment. The fact that it is set in the early 1900's also helps; it accentuates a level of formality the film employs.
It connects to "Match Point" because instead of being a man, a woman the one who wants to be part of the highest level of society. Becky Sharp's (Reese Whiterspoon) lost her father and mother when little, and has been educated working as a servant. However, she's cultured, capable OK being liked with the right comments at the proper time.
We see it first when she goes to work with her friend Amelia's (Romola Garai) family. Amelia tells Becky that her brother Jos (Tony Maudsley) is lonely and loves the India; so Becky starts talking about how incredible India and her flavors are for her. The consequences are, among others, trying something more than spicy.
But those are the consequences at first; simple things. But life can get complicated; a person can get greedy and not measure or realize where the lime is. Becky's life is a journey worth experiencing; meeting people like Sir Pitt (Bob Hoskins) and his family, the severe Mr. Osborne (Jim Broadbent), his son George (from "Match Point", Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and his friend Dobbin (Rhys Ifans), the unique Matilda Crawley (Eileen Atkins) and the peculiar Marquess of Steyne (Gabriel Byrne).
The mentioned above are people Becky took or could have taken advantage of. However, she also met and married Rawdon Crawley (James Purefoy), she ran away from a big fortune, had a child and even cried while saying her husband goodbye ("I'm a woman in love, aren't I?"); things that you don't expect her to do once you have watched the film for a while.
Mira Nair, the director, directed "The Perez Family" more than one decade ago. That one was a movie that understood the importance of all the characters, as does "Vanity Fair". Nair doesn't write much; but observes carefully. Her writers for this project were three (Mathew Faulk, Mark Skeet, Julian Fellowes), basing their screenplay on a novel by W. M. Thackeray.
The screenplay manages the language it has to manage and it makes the characters talk beautifully. The costume design by Beatrix Aruna Pasztor and the music by Mychael Danna are little details that help setting the very old chronology of the film. The screenplay also takes a lot of turns and travels through a lot of places.
But Reese Whiterspoon can handle all that very well. We feel her presence even when she's not being shown by the camera. Her transformation is remarkable. All of the transformations are great; all of the characters matter and you can make a quite short description of each of them. Bob Hoskins is perfect, Jim Broadbent is classy, Gabriel Byrne is limitedly good, Eileen Atkins is a blast.
Though two performances highlight the most; first: James Purefoy, who has been in my radar for a long time but I haven't seen him as long as I appreciated him here. He is solid. Last: Rhys Ifans. Yes, that guy who got naked in "Human Nature" and "Nothin Hill" experiences the time changes better than any other and acquires a big range of expression; he's marvelous.
The story ends interestingly You want good things for Becky, as long as she's good and honest to herself; and she hasn't been. In fact, being like that is the best (better only) way of living life.