Vanity Fair (2004 film)

Infobox Film
name = Vanity Fair


caption =
director = Mira Nair
writer = William Thackeray (novel)
Matthew Faulk (screenplay)

Mark Skeet
(screenplay)

Julian Fellowes
starring = Reese Witherspoon
Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Gabriel Byrne
Eileen Atkins
Bob Hoskins
Romola Garai
Jim Broadbent
producer = Janette Day
distributor = Focus Features
budget = ~ US$23,000,000
released = 1 September 2004 (USA)
runtime = 135 min
language = English
totalgross = 19.2 million (worldwide)
imdb_id = 0241025

William Makepeace Thackeray's novel "Vanity Fair" (1847 - 1848) has been the subject of numerous television and film adaptations. "Vanity Fair" is a 2004 drama/romance film, directed by Mira Nair. This version made substantial changes, including a happy ending (see Thackeray article for plot summary). It stars Reese Witherspoon as Becky Sharp.

The film was nominated for "Golden Lion" Award in 2004 Venice Film Festival.

Cast

*Reese Witherspoon - Rebecca 'Becky' Sharp Crawley
*Angelica Mandy - Young Rebecca 'Becky' Sharp Crawley
*Romola Garai - Amelia Sedley Osborne
*James Purefoy - Colonel Rawdon Crawley
*Jonathan Rhys Meyers - George Henry Osborne
*Rhys Ifans - Major William Dobbin
*Eileen Atkins - Miss Matilda Crawley
*Geraldine McEwan - Lady Southdown
*Gabriel Byrne - Marquess of Steyne
*Kelly Hunter - Lady Steyne
*Bob Hoskins - Sir Pitt Crawley Sr.
*Douglas Hodge - Pitt Crawley Jr.
*Natasha Little - Lady Jane Sheepshanks Crawley
*Jim Broadbent - Mr. Osborne
*Tony Maudsley - Joseph 'Jos' Sedley
*John Franklyn-Robbins - Mr. Sedley
*Deborah Findlay - Mrs. Mary Sedley
*Barbara Leigh-Hunt - Lady Bareacres
*Tom Sturridge - Young Georgy
*Kathryn Drysdale - Rhoda Swartz
*Angelaca Maicy - Monica Shwartz
*Robert Pattinson - Rawdy Crawley

Reception

Critics gave the film mixed reviews. Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 53 out of 100, based on 41 reviews. [cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/vanityfair?q=vanity%20fair|title=Vanity Fair (2004 film): Reviews |accessdate=2008-02-21 |publisher=Metacritic]

Stephen Hunter of the "Washington Post" gave positive review, calling the movie "Mira Nair's fine movie version of the 1848 book, in all its glory and scope and wit." [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51157-2004Aug31.html 'Vanity Fair': The Empire, Richly Painted (washingtonpost.com) ] ] In the "Charlotte Observer", Lawrence Toppman commented that "The filmmakers have wisely retained the main structure of the book" and that "The cast is uniformly good, even when dealing with sudden mood changes forced by the screenwriters' need to move forward." [ [http://ae.charlotte.com/entertainment/ui/charlotte/movie.html?id=164734&reviewId=15989&startDate=NEXT7 Movie: Vanity Fair ] ] Meanwhile, Lisa Schwarzbaum, in her review in "Entertainment Weekly", rated the film a B-, and added that the film "borders on perky — a duller, safer tonal choice for the story of a conniving go-getter whose fall is as precipitous as her rise." [ [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,690949,00.html Vanity Fair | Movie Review | Entertainment Weekly ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.vanityfairmovie.com/ Official site]
*imdb title|id=0241025|title=Vanity Fair
*mojo title|id=vanityfair|title=Vanity Fair
* [http://www.trollback.com/?projects=81 Opening titles designed by Trollback + Company]