Vanity Fair (Widescreen)
by Mira Nair
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Actor: Gabriel Byrne, James Purefoy, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Reese Witherspoon, Romola GaraiDirector: Mira Nair
Brand: WITHERSPOON,REESE
Producer: Dinaz Stafford
Producer: Donna Gigliotti
Producer: Howard Cohen
Writer: Julian Fellowes
Writer: Mark Skeet
Writer: Matthew Faulk
Writer: William Makepeace Thackeray
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Original Language); German (Original Language); French (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 141 minutes
Published: 2005-02-01
DVD Release Date: 2005-02-01
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Universal Studios
DVD Reviews of Vanity Fair (Widescreen)
DVD Review: If only this DVD had half of Becky's ambition . . .
Summary: 4 Stars
I loved this movie, which I didn't expect. I had never read the novel, and my interest in seeing it had more to do with the people involved. I was not disappointed by any means with the film itself. Witherspoon gives an amazing performance made even more jaw-dropping by the fact that she was so very, VERY pregnant for pretty much the entire movie. Her pregnancy was worked into the script for a few scenes, but for the most part, they tried to hide it with costumes and oddly-placed or mighty convenient props, or simply made do by shooting her from the waist up. However, her pregnancy gave her not only a glow (I've never thought of her as truly beautiful, but she looks just stunning in this movie) but also a pleasing curve and buxom-ness that not only went better with the period but was a welcome change from the typical Hollywood skinny actress.
Fine performances abound; in fact no one was terrible or wasted. But especial kudos must go to Bob Hoskins and Jim Broadbent because I adore them both and their brilliance is well used in this film. And my hat is COMPLETELY off to Rhys Ifans! I had no IDEA the man could act. In EVERY movie I've ever seen him in, he's A) blonde and B) a complete buffon. I'd written him off as a British Rob Schnieder or something. Now I see how completely wrong I was. His character had me from the moment he gave Amelia the piano, and from then on, Captain Dobbin became the hero of the film for me. I know the novel's not supposed to have a hero, but Captain (later Major) Dobbin really filled the role neatly here, with his long-suffering but steadfast love.
Having never read the novel, I am in a unique place to review the film. I felt that at times it didn't seem quite period (one character uses the phrase "suck up") and it seemed to lack continuity in places (Witherspoon's hair shifts between blonde and strawberry blonde depending on the scene -- did they have colorists back then, or was something wrong with my T.V. screen?) but it was surprisingly funny, and I laughed out loud in places. Best line: "I had thought her a mere social climber. I see now she's a mountaineer." I wanted that line to be the title of my review, but alas, someone beat me to it! Another great one from father-in-law to daughter: "There's no one in this family who doesn't wish you dead!"
The colors in this film are striking, and the lavish costumes and art direction and set design take the breath away. Kudos to Nair for eschewing the stodgy period palatte of black and grey and going full bore with a beautiful array of Indian-inspired finery. Occasionally it all looks a bit too new and bright to be believed, even for upper class people (Their clothes couldn't have been THAT spotless!) but she's not afraid to hose 'em down or rip 'em up a little bit, so it's not too unrealistic.
There are so many characters that I doubt all of them could have had a real resolution in one movie, and I've read book reviews saying that Thackery didn't give many of his characters real resolutions anyhow, so I guess that's par for the course. But I was particularly disappointed about George's character. He's played by the delectable Jonathan Rhys Myers (who scared me to death in "Titus" and made my heart flutter in "Bend It Like Beckham") but he is impossible to figure out. He's a snobby aristocrat, but he won't marry for money alone. He values honor, but he burns the pictures his fiancee sends him. He seems to have nothing but contempt for Amelia but he takes her to wife, and then (SPOILER!) he dies before we can investigate these contradictions. The fact that his scenes with Witherspoon are wonderful to watch, and among the best in the film only fanned the flame of my curiosity about this character, so I was very very disappointed to see him gone so soon.
Witherspoon's relationship with Rawden is well written and even better played by two fine actors. I regret only that Witherspoon's pregnancy prevented her from doing more passionate things with the love scenes. I don't mean nudity, but he obviously had to be careful how he handled her, and it made things a bit awkward. Amelia's character seemed a bit lifeless not just compared to Becky but on the whole. I felt she could have been more interesting, but then I am biased because I loved Dobbin so well.
This movie has a strong resemblance to "Gone With the Wind." I guess Mitchell must have been a fan! She does mention Thackery in her book (Melanie to Ashley: "I like Mr. Thackery, but I fear he is not the gentleman Mr. Dickens is.") so it stands to reason that she would have borrowed a few things. Rhett's first reply to Scarlett's long delayed confession of love is "That's your misfortune," and Rawden repeats it here in a similar scene when he finally tires of Becky's antics. He also tells someone else that "Cats are better mothers" than Becky, another Rhett-ism I thought Mitchell coined. Ah well, live and learn. It's still a great book!
I have rambled for a long time on the movie, but the reason for my subtracting a star has to do with the DVD which I will finally talk about now. There are no real extras! There's a commentary, but it's actually just the director sharing various observations along the lines of "I really like this shot" and "this actor is so good" -- in other words, the usual dirctor's commentary B.S. No wonder Spielberg won't do this stuff. There's chapter selection, but this 2.5 hour movie is given only 18 chapters! This gross oversight forces the viewer to make rather a meal of finding a particular scene. There's also a half-assed "making of" doc that's really not so much "making of" as "here's a look at some of the people involved and what they have to say about the movie." Then there's an even shorter one on the women involved. Interesting, yes, but I for one am equally as interested in the men, and the doc didn't tell me much of anything informative that hadn't already been covered in the other one. There are deleted scenes, but they have no commentary, and they're all played at once instead of letting the viewer decide which ones to watch. I hate it when DVDs do that! The first one is an alternate opening credits sequence which to me seemed indistinguishable from the original. Therefore I viewed with the trepidation the so-called "alternate ending" -- DVDs are always touting this, and it usually turns out to be the same ending with different music or merely features the hero in a different color shirt. However, this one really was totally different. In the "real" ending (SPOILER!) Becky goes off to India with Amelia's weird brother. (I say "real" because apparently it's not that way in the book. But it works here.) The alternate one features Amelia going to her brother-in-law's funeral to try and reconnect with her son, who forgives her for abandoning him. In the first ending, we're lead to believe that she's washed her hands of the boy. I like the second one better. It features an extremely cheesy speech, but it also features her grown-up son, who's HOT and who I was curious to get a look at. Also, forgiveness is divine -- and that's why I forgive the filmmakers for this lame DVD and plan to buy it anyway.
Description of Vanity Fair (Widescreen)
In a culture obsessed with status, Becky Sharp, beautiful, clever and poor, is determined to earn her place in society. While the wickedly amoral Becky manipulates the men around her, the vagaries of fate leave her innocent childhood friend, Amelia SedleyGenre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 31-MAY-2005
Media Type: DVD
The corsets and high waists of the 19th century meet the lush colors and visual splendor of India in Vanity Fair, a classic novel translated into modern celluloid by Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding). The very contemporary Reese Witherspoon (Legally Blonde, Election) at first seems to hit the wrong note as Becky Sharp, an orphaned girl who rises to the heights of society using her quick wits and feminine wiles. But as Vanity Fair unfolds, the movie's tone embraces both period decor and modern attitudes, searching for a bridge that will carry us more deeply into a different time. It isn't wholly successful--the movie's end wraps things up awkwardly--but some scenes achieve a surprising and vivid immediacy, in particular one in which Becky's gambler husband (elegant James Purefoy) catalogues his worth for her before going off to the Napoleonic battlefields; love and pragmatism fuse with heartbreaking results. --Bret Fetzer
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