Movie Review: Vanity Fair

[chicken]

Rhys Ifans.

He's been a light comedic actor. Notting Hill, Twin Town. Little Nicky. But this time he shows us he can do deep dramatic parts as well. He breaks our hearts with just one facial expression, one soulful look. I was flabbergasted. Bravo, you great Welsh actor, you. He was so under-promoted, and I don't get why. He was just fantastic.

Of course, Jonathan Rhys Meyers was good, as was James Purefoy (sexy in his gay role opposite Trainspotting's Keven McKidd in Bedrooms & Hallways). Broadbent was great, too.

The real surprise, though, is that I wasn't as disappointed in Reese Witherspoon as I thought I was going to be. She had been so hyped down, so trashed, that she couldn't but do better than expected. When you start low, there's nowhere to go but up. Sure, she isn't great, but she isn't as bad as people led me to believe. Of course there is no way she can be compared to actors in similar roles in the past, who have done better with this sort of part (think Gillian Anderson in The House of Mirth or Michelle Pfeiffer in The Age of Innocence).

Romola Garai was also a surprise. I'd never heard of her, and was impressed by her. Of course her acting and accent were better than Reese's, and to Romola's credit -- it isn't as if she was good simply because Reese wasn't quite up to par. Very good performance.

I can't comment on the plot or butchering thereof, since I haven't read the book. Someone else can do that.

Regardless, the cinematography was lush and up to par with the beauty and colors in Monsoon Wedding.