by Eleanor O'Donnell

Created on: February 18, 2010

The Hollywood adaption of Thackery's well loved classic novel, Vanity Fair, received a mixed reception when it was released in 2005.  Some felt it was a cheesy, glittery affair which detracted from the beauty of the original novel, while others let themselves get swept away by Becky's wit and Rawdon's gallantry.  My opinion of the film is somewhere in between.  I love the costumes, the direction and the cast in this film; as well as a lot of the screenplay.  I do have my doubts about the depths of some of the characters though, and I have to agree a little with those who suggest that this film somewhat spoiled a great literary classic.

Vanity Fair tells the story of Becky Sharp's rise and falls within British society during the Napoleonic era. Becky is born into a poor existence, and is sadly orphaned at a relatively young age.  Fortunately, she finds herself working for a lady's education instead of being sent to the poor house, and it is at Miss Pinkerton's school that she befriends the innocent and virtuous Amelia Sedley.  Both girls go onto suffer misfortunes and hardships, and both deal with those difficulties in rather different ways. The idea behind the story of these girls is interesting; one girl is a person in her own right, and the other is more of an extension of men.  This film adaption doesn't really do a lot to explore that avenue though, which made Amelia's presence feel a little redundant at times.

The original Becky Sharp, the Becky created by Thackery, is a fast-witted, sly, cunning little fox of a woman.  She has high desires and no shame about how she fulfills her social ambitions.  The Becky Sharp played by Reese Witherspoon in this film is a little too sweet and innocent to really fit that original character profile.  She is pretty, she is witty at times, but she also has an air of naivety and good nature about her which really doesn't bode well with the direction that the film tries to take.  Becky puts on an enjoyable performance, but it's only entertaining at face value in my opinion.  I think they made a reasonable choice in casting Reese Witherspoon for this role, but the crew could (and should) have done so much more with her dialogue and body language throughout.  At times it was like watching Julie Andrews star as Moll Flanders.

The supporting cast were interesting in a Hollywood way, but the general standard of acting seemed to vary quite

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