Picture This! Reviews Vanity Fair

Reprinted from NotesFromHollywood.com

Two years ago when The Hours was released, major literary figures (and numerous minor ones) took exception to Nicole Kidman’s portrayal of Virginia Woolf. She was too tall, her nose was not right, her movements in the film belied the truths known all too well to them. That’s what happens when a beloved piece of literature or a literary figure becomes entwined in the filmmaking process.

With a literary classic hitting the screens in yet another remake of the adventures of Becky Sharp, Vanity Fair lends itself to pseudo-intellectuals mulling over minutia, comparing plot points, and flaunting the ever so tired “the movie isn’t nearly as good as the book” folderol.

So let’s put all that aside, shall we? If you haven’t read the book or read it so long ago plot details are a mere blur, this film passes quite nicely as an afternoon’s entertainment in the world of period dramas.

Reese Witherspoon dresses up well (with more than her share of close-ups to hide her personal pregnancy) and does her best to add spice to Sharp, a less than appealing social climber. Whatever shortcomings the movie has are no fault of Witherspoon’s talents.

And there are short comings to Vanity Fair. A stronger supporting cast would have added more depth to the telling. Gabriel Byrne, as Marquess of Steyne, had a marvelous opportunity to be even more wickedly manipulative than Witherspoon’s Sharp and instead came off as flat and tired.

Perhaps a better adaptation of the tome might have helped. Large gaps in time and swings of emotions are often explained away with a single line of dialogue creating less than believable transitions. Becky’s childhood friend, Amelie, turns on a dime into the arms of her husband’s friend upon hearing of her dead husband’s love for Becky, her best friend, who was reading her the letter. (If she had read this last sentence it would have been a longer screen take.)

Both of these shortcomings can be placed in the lap of the director Mira Nair. Her talent in directing is apparent in parts of Fair, but it is hardly consistent.

The shining contribution to this venture is the cinematography of Declan Quinn. Having done beautiful work on such contrasting films as Leaving Las Vegas, One True Thing, and In America, Quinn films this period piece with lushness and grittiness, keeping the interest of the viewer far more on the look of the film than the content.

Seeing the movie may wet your appetite to read the book and fill in the gaps. It wouldn’t be a bad way to spend a rainy afternoon.
Rebecca Redshaw is the Arts& Entertainment Critic for www.NotesFromHollywood.com. She can be reached at r2redshaw@hotmail.com.