Jane Austen discussion

Begin your discussion of Vanity Fair, the film released in 2005--

I enjoyed it! It wasn't the best period piece that I have seen, but it was pretty faithful to the novel, and the acting was decent. It actually had some very funny scenes too, now that I think back on it.

I really enjoyed it, too! Good cast: Gabriel Byrne was creepy, as was J. Rhys-Meyers.

Hmm, I remember it being not very faithful to the book... but that is maybe because I apparently don't think that anything is faithful enough (as I've discovered here) :)

I just remember Becky dealing cards in a casino in India and doing a 7 veils type dance. Weird.

Jeannette wrote: "I really enjoyed it, too! Good cast: Gabriel Byrne was creepy, as was J. Rhys-Meyers."

JRM creepy? More like gorgeous. (But yeah, he was pretty strange. What was going on with his hair?).

Joy wrote: "Jeannette wrote: "I really enjoyed it, too! Good cast: Gabriel Byrne was creepy, as was J. Rhys-Meyers."

JRM creepy? More like gorgeous. (But yeah, he was pretty strange. What was going on with h..."

Okay, I was referring to the BBC multi-episode film adaptation. Maybe I watched a different version?

haha. I was talking about the movie with Reese Witherspoon.

Joy wrote: "Jeannette wrote: "I really enjoyed it, too! Good cast: Gabriel Byrne was creepy, as was J. Rhys-Meyers."

JRM creepy? More like gorgeous. (But yeah, he was pretty strange. What was going on with h..."

We love Georgie's 'do! It was my first JRM flick. I love him, too!

Joy wrote: "haha. I was talking about the movie with Reese Witherspoon."

The 2005 film starred Reese Witherspoon. I am positive that it is not faithful to the book! That admitted, it is a fun film to watch -- dealing cards, veil dances, elephants -- what more do you need?

Accuracy?

Jeannette wrote: "Joy wrote: "haha. I was talking about the movie with Reese Witherspoon."

The 2005 film starred Reese Witherspoon. I am positive that it is not faithful to the book! That admitted, it is a fun fi..."

Nope that was not the version I watched. I watched the 1998 BBC six-episode adaptation with Natasha Little as Becky Sharp. It was pretty close to the novel. I took it down to Green Valley, AZ (south of Tucson) and shared it with my elderly Ps. They loved it too!

Sorry Chris that I seconded your opinion of a movie you haven't seen yet. I wondered about the funny scenes you mentioned, because I don't remember many from the newer movie.

I will be watching the 2005 version this weekend. Will you Sarah? :)

I don't own this one, so I am out to find it in town somewhere. Hope I am more successful than getting the book Post Captain for our other discussion. I have had a big mix up on that and still don't have it in hand. The library should be sending it as we speak though.

Hopefully I will be back soon on this movie.

Sorry, Chris, I intended to list the release dates (for clarification) on the Summer Movie List for those films that might have several popular versions -- I may have missed doing it on Vanity Fair. You can certainly discuss the version you watched too because other members may have seen it. I would like to see it too. I probably wont have time to watch it in the coming days, or I would look for it at the library to discuss with you myself. I apologize.

Well, to make amends for piping up about this movie, here is a snippet of a review I found:

Vanity Fair is a beautiful mess. It combines the beauty of elegant costumes, sets and people with the disaster that is Mira Nair's adaptation of William Makepeace Thackery's novel. Not only is the adaptation bad but also so is what Nair has done with it. If you read the book, the movie will break your heart. It has completely ripped to shreds the pages of the classic story.

As I have not read the book, and do not have any attachment to it, or the characters, I formed my opinion based solely on the movie itself. There must have been enough of Thackeray's story hiding somewhere in this film, because I enjoyed it. The film's story, was to me, overall sad and dark. This woman, Becky, was never satisfied with her life as a wife and mother, and she trampled that life to keep climbing up and up. The film makers slapped on a ridiculous ending, and the dance scene was just as ridiculous. But, I liked the cast and the rather melodramatic adaptation.

I can completely understand that it would appall anyone who loves the book, and am certainly not passing judgment on that opinion. I might have felt the same if I had been fortunate enough to have read the book first.

Sarah wrote: "I don't own this one, so I am out to find it in town somewhere. Hope I am more successful than getting the book Post Captain for our other discussion. I have had a big mix up on that and still don..."

Oh, no worries! I am the idiot that wasn't paying attention, as you did reference the release date! I had heard that the Reese Witherspoon film was pretty much crap, so I didn't have it in my Netflix queue. I do recommend the six-part BBC adaptation; it was fun (and funny)!

I'm glad you weren't talking about the 2005 movie, Chris, because otherwise I was seriously questioning your credibility if you thought it stayed true to the novel!

Joy wrote: "I'm glad you weren't talking about the 2005 movie, Chris, because otherwise I was seriously questioning your credibility if you thought it stayed true to the novel!"

;-)

My problem is that I don't always pay attention to details...

Chris and other Netflix customers,
The Reese Witherspoon version is available for Instant Viewing on Netflix. So is the 1998 TV version.

I've not read the book yet, I've got a copy knocking around the house somewhere but haven't quite got around to actually reading it.

I watched the Reese Witherspoon film the other night and I thought it was an enjoyable adaption, even without reading the book I could see they were taking a few liberties but that didn't bother me too much.

I particularly liked Reese Witherspoon in the role of Becky Sharpe - someone who is flawed but likeable regardless, even though she brings about her own downfall, in a sense I was still it would come good for her!

Chris, I will seek out that BBC version some day soon - it sounds good!

I has seen this '05 adaptation once when it was released but not since then, so I watched this again. It was pretty enjoyable overall. There are other films we'll be discussing (and have already discussed) here that I like much better, but this one was still entertaining. Reese is quite talented so it's a good thing most of the film rested on her. I like Rhys Ifans as Dobbin--when he goes to India himself and lets his hair grow and gets a tan, it's a bit of a shock how attractive his is! And you can't go wrong with Jim Broadbent, Bob Hoskins, or Eileen Atkins.

I thought it was quite entertaining, too. I have only seen Rhys Ifans playing a nutcase, so it was quite the departure for him. And we love Georgie and his funky hair. :)

Rachel wrote: "I like Rhys Ifans as Dobbin--when he goes to India himself and lets his hair grow and gets a tan, it's a bit of a shock how attractive his is! "

I can only picture Rhys Ifans as "Spike" from the movie Notting Hill, so seeing him as Dobbin was difficult for me :)

I am only about one third through the film -- through scene 5 I think.

It really captures me that everyone in the story is jockeying for positions and money, except Amelia and Aunt Matilda! I don't know how closely this follows the theme and tone of the original work, but it is a good script.

Did sophisticated women of this time not wear hats or bonnets in public? I know they had the intricate Roman-style hair-dos and the peacock feathers and all that, but Becky was so sad traveling in the rain without a hat of any kind!

Also, Rawdon tells Becky welcome to London when they arrive to stay with Aunt Matilda. Actually had she been a child in London - is that where she had lived and her father had painted? Also, where was the girls' school she had been sent to as a servant(?)

Oh, I completed it and would really love a drink. This is a not a hope-filled movie. It really just seems like a series of wasted opportunities. How the families squabbled and divided over money. Becky and Rawdon too.

And they sent the little son away to school. In all the stores, what was with all the kinds being sent away to school. Do they not have decent local or municipal schools in England at that time. Was it just an idea that little kids learned better in a boarding school? And I really dislike Amelia by the end too -- she had shipped off little George out of her care and didn't seem to have been fair to Dobbin.

The story just seems to be one about the folly of humans. I really want to read the book someday to compare the two but if the plot is the same, maybe not.

Becky sending their son away broke her husband's heart, didn't it? And it drove home the point that he wasn't able to provide for the family properly.

And, Amelia was the victim for so much of the movie.

I guess I should mention the parts I thought were funny or unique. Since Becky was always on the move, there was always something about her tiny little trunk. She was always having to take care of that little trunk herself. I liked when she rode on the back of the coal wagon with her trunk when moving out to one of the places. The coal man said something like "Won't that be disgraceful?" and she said, "Not as disgraceful as standing out in this street." And also her falling down laughing when dropping one of the rugs she was carrying through the street.

It was a colorful movie, with all the Indian themes in the sets.

I am glad in the end, that Steyne didn't get what he wanted, even though it was too late to save the marriage by that time.

Jeannette wrote: "Becky sending their son away broke her husband's heart, didn't it? And it drove home the point that he wasn't able to provide for the family properly.

And, Amelia was the victim for so much of th..."

You would think that would have been one thing that Becky could have stood up to the bad guy about. Knowing how much her husband wanted his son to stay. Yes, that was too much for me.

Maybe Amelia was the counterpart of Becky. As unsophisticated as Becky was sophisticated. The innocent opposed to the worldly.