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Vanity Fair Reviews

Fair watch, below expectations
Dec 07, 2004 11:34 AM 1844 Views

Well, if you're like me, the title might ring a bell in memory. William Thackeray's classic novel is brought to screen by Mira Nair. Her saleability in India has certainly increased after Monsoon Wedding and she dares to venture into 19th century England. Thoughts also race to a similar experiment by Shekhar Kapur a few years ago.


The story is filled with numerous characters, typical of the novels of those times. But the difference lies in the protagonist not characterised by goodness. The tale is of Becky Sharp, who tries to get away from her poor beginnings and climb up the social ladder by any means.


A tome is certainly difficult to contain in a 2-plus-hour movie; so, events moving quickly and just being touched upon are quite expected. The first scene makes you sit up and wait for more. But the movie is let down completely by the screenplay, that neither succeeds in gaining sufficient interest nor in projecting the complex character properly. While her greed and desperation is not covered adequately, the affection towards her friend keeps jumping out of nowhere. Her attitude towards her husband and child are fairly dealt with though. A couple of dance sequences are interestingly picturised. Overall, what you get to see is just the life of the times, in the high society and in the backdrop of various wars -- nothing more.


Brief but regular references and interludes to India (where Thackeray was born) arouse some curiosity. The scenes shot here are devoid of both a foreigner's fascination and a native's enthusiasm to showcase the country.


Witherspoon gets a good role to slip out of her Legally Blonde image; but with a screenplay that isn't supporting her well, she fails rise above it. Veterans Atkins, Hoskins and Broadbent leave their mark, though not all parts do justice to their capabilities. Ifans makes you take notice of him with a subdued performance. Byrne thrives in his mysterious role. The rest of the cast are just fine.


Music by Danna, a Nair regular, surprises you once again. His comfort with various cultures is simply amazing. You have one brief song by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy too. The technical aspects are ironically perfect -- be it the costumes, make-up, art direction or cinematography.


One's expectations were high considering Nair's rise in the world stage and the standards set by Elizabeth. Though the filming has been done well, the lack of powerful story-telling leaves the audience disappointed.



Bottom-line: Fair (pun unintended) watch if expectations are low.


Category: Drama / Romance


Starring: Reese Witherspoon, James Purefoy, Gabriel Byrne, Romolo Garai, Bob Hoskins, Rhys Ifans, Eileen Atkins, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Jim Broadbent


Music: Mychael Danna


Direction: Mira Nair



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