Jamie passion and passionfruit!

Vanity Fair is a classic English novel by Thackeray about social climber Becky Sharp and her fortunes and falls as she tries to carve out a life in English high society of the 19^th century despite her lack of pedigree.  It has been filmed for both TV and cinema various times and this long novel now gets the treatment from Indian director Mira Nair.  She does a fair job – the film is entertaining enough and coherent but that is it.    Reese Witherspoon does a fair job in the lead role – she is a natural trangressor but I couldn’t help feeling that there could have been other actresses better suited to the part.   We get the array of character actors like Bob Hoskins, Jim Broadbent. Gabriel Byrne and Geraldine Newman in parts of greater or lesses importance – some do well, others just perform the lines.  Rhys Ifans as Captain Dobbin adds some pathos while James Purefoy as Becky’s husband is pretty and pretty dull.  The star is Eileen Atkins as Aunt Matilda.  She lights up her various scenes and lifts the film above the hundrum.  All in all a only a very fair effort.

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