Vanity Fair (2004)

★★
Many lengthy novels suffer during the transition to the big screen because the filmmakers delete excess characters and shorten the plot to facilitate a reasonable running time. Vanity Fair makes a strong case that deletion is sometimes necessary. This is a film with so many characters and personal stories that it becomes overwhelming at 137 minutes, a time that doesn't pass with any noticeable speed. The movie features good acting, the costumes look authentic, and the architecture seems realistic enough, but there doesn't seem to be any drive to its story. It's basically one scene after another of sophisticated British characters and their mundane problems associated with their social status.

Becky Sharp (Reese Witherspoon) began life as a poor girl, so she has dreams of becoming a member of the British upper class in order to gain the kind of financial security that she would otherwise find unattainable. As a young adult during the 1800s, Becky finishes school and gets ready for her first job as a governess. If she can't marry wealth just yet, she can at least educate a wealthy family's children. She finds herself in the home of Sir Pitt Crawley (Bob Hoskins), but his house doesn't exactly hint that someone rich lives there. Nevertheless, Becky accepts her new position with enthusiasm. Gradually, she establishes good relations with the Crawleys, especially Pitt's sister Matilde (Eileen Atkins).

In a move that could be seen as haste, Becky marries Rawdon Crawley (James Purefoy), Pitt's son who has a gambling problem. It's a start. He won't inherit a whole lot, but he's an avenue to a brighter future than she had previously known. After several years, his gambling habit nearly bankrupts them, until an old friend of Becky's, Lord Steyne (Gabriel Byrne), helps them out. He knew her as a child and comes to the rescue for reasons that seem shady.

That is just Becky's story. There are multiple storylines running simultaneously to the main one. Becky's friend (perhaps her only real friend) Amelia (Romola Garai) marries George Osborne (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers), but she doesn't have the same kind of luck that Becky has. George's family members come forward, mainly to highlight their snobby attitudes (they're rich, okay?). Somewhere amongst the family squabbles, the battle at Waterloo against Napoleon figures into all of this. This is a movie that seeks out more hardships for its characters, instead of knowing when enough is enough.

There are some quirky characters to be found, particularly Matilde, but nearly everyone is self-centered and stuffy. Watching this movie is like hanging around people with whom you have nothing in common and can't wait to put in the rearview mirror. It's a wonder why Becky would want to ingratiate herself with this crowd when she would probably lose her identity (and possibly her personality). Vanity Fair is simply too sophisticated for its own good. The movie captures the look of the 1800s well enough, but few interesting characters can be found, and the plot moves along slowly even though it's overflowing with details.

Vanity Fair is far from perfect, but it gets a marginal recommendation. Reese Witherspoon as Becky Sharp is plucky, intelligent and ambitious. She injects life into a movie that would be terminally ill if it weren't for her presence.

© 2004 Silver Screen Reviews