Vanity Fair Review - Page 2
Nair and screenwriters Matthew Faulk and Mark Skeet have taken liberties with the story, making considerable cuts to Thackeray's 800 page novel, but what makes it on screen is cohesive and compelling. The story centers on Becky, orphaned at a young age. She is bright and ambitious, and she makes disguise of her intentions: to rise through the ranks of society by means of a good marriage. There were simply no other paths for ambitious women to take in 19th century England. Always wanting more than what she has, Becky Sharp makes atrocious mistakes that are often at cross purposes with her own happiness.
In addition to Witherspoon, noteworthy performances include Bob Hoskins as the eccentric Sir Pitt Crawley, Eileen Atkins as his rich spinster aunt Matilda, and Jonathan Rhys Myers as the vain, loutish husband of Amelia. James Purefoy plays Witherspoon's gambling husband, and though relatively unknown in the U.S., he certainly has movie star appeal. Garai, a terrific actress, succeeds in making Amelia Sedley simpering and foolish – which was perhaps the film's only disappointment, after shining performances in earlier work.
Victorian England often comes across as a drab, dark, and musty, but Nair imbues the film with color by including several short, vibrant sequences shot in India, including the final, ebullient elephant ride through the streets of Bombay. "Vanity Fair" even features a unexpected, entirely beguiling dance number in the parlor of the Marquee of Styne, Witherspoon's eyes rimmed in kohl, alluring in a blue sari, performing before a stunned audience--both in the film and in the theater.
