Thursday, August 11, 2011

My Thoughts on Vanity Fair



Becky Sharp is "poor and put-upon." She's also "a sharp little minx," a "treacherous little trollop," and "a heartless mother and faithless wife." Yes, there's something about Becky in this impeccable BBC production based on William Makepeace Thackeray's classic novel. It speaks volumes about Thackeray's indomitable heroine and Natasha Little's seductively ingratiating performance that our hearts go out to her even as we eagerly await her comeuppance. Becky is scorned for her lack of breeding, but as one admirer notes, "she's got pluck." Poised to begin her new job as a governess, Becky's calculated social climbing begins in the home of her friend, the naive Amelia Sedley (Frances Grey), whose father is a wealthy merchant. She immediately makes a play for Amelia's doofus brother, but their budding romance is sabotaged by Amelia's fiancé George Osborne (Tom Ward), an "interfering, officious snob" who doesn't fancy a governess for a sister-in-law. And so it's out into the world, where Becky works her wiles on a gallery of memorable characters, including her lecherous new employer Sir Pitt; his imperious rich sister Miss Crawley (Miriam Margolyes), who takes Becky under her wing; and Pitt's dashing son Rawdon (Nathanial Perker), the first of Becky's misguided sexual entanglements.

What I Can Tell You:
I may be the only book lover that has never read Vanity Fair so I had no idea what to expect. This was a fun movie to watch. It was a perfect way to spend a rainy day with the kids involved in their games, I sat at the computer and wished I had someone to watch it with.

Becky Sharp is one naughty girl. She cracked me up from the beginning of the movie when she told off the school marms of Miss Pinkerton's Academy for Young Ladies. I knew from that moment, I was going to love her. The story is good. The writing, well, obviously the book is a classic for a reason. The characters are fleshy and real. I never thought the movie boring considering it is a BBC and not a big budget, extravaganza, full of action like I usually watch. The dialogue is what makes this so awesome. There is a ton of witty banter that made me smile through much of the movie.
I also love Amelia Sedley who is horribly in love with George Osborne but has a puppy dog secret admirer in his friend, William Dobbin.

The characters are well acted.  The clothing and set amazing. The production a bit bland but it was perfect for this book adaptation which was written in 1847.

If you love the classics, you will love spending a few hours with Vanity Fair on DVD.




*Open to US only.
Disclosure: I am hosting this giveaway for 
A&E and The BBC
who provided the giveaway product.
I received no monetary compensation.



52 comments:

  1. timmiedeluca@comcast.net

    my favorite classic is Anne of Green Gables

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  11. My favorite classic is Pride and Prejudice
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  14. I love the movie Wuthering Heights

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  18. My favorite classic movie and love story is Doctor Zhivago. I've never read the book (though it has sat on my bookshelf for years!), but the movie fascinates me. And it doesn't hurt that Omar Sharif makes me swoon! :D

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  32. my favorite classic is "The Raven" by E.A. Poe

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  35. I've actually not seen any classic movies that I can put my finger on right this minute. Hmmm, I've read books though and my fave classic book is Great Expectations.

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