Leofwine_draca VANITY FAIR is a well-mounted adaptation of the classic William Makepeace Thackeray novel, a story which follows the life and loves of Becky Sharp, a girl who rises from nothing to become the cream of society. Unfortunately it turns out to lack the wit and flair of an Austen novel or the drama of a Bronte book, although whether this is due to the author or not I can't tell as I haven't read the book.Still, VANITY FAIR is a lavish costume drama in any respect, and it's absolutely packed to the rafters with familiar faces beloved to those who watch British TV and film. My only complaint is, alas, a central one: Reese Witherspoon. Her British accent is acceptable, but her acting is hollow, and I wonder why a British actress wasn't cast in the role instead. Romola Garai is much better than Witherspoon and she's only in support; a shame she didn't take the lead role.The film has an episodic feel to it and it feels a little flabby in places, although the talented cast help bring the tale to life. Highlights include James Purefoy as a romantic interest and Bob Hoskins as an eccentric Baronet, with Elaine Atkins and Geraldine McEwan shining as a pair of sharp-tongued spinsters. Rhys Ifans gives the best performance I've seen from him yet, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers is fine too. The scenes dealing with war and conflict are fine, but Indian director Mira Nair is obsessed with shoehorning needless Indian content into the production, which spoils it somewhat.

copperncherrio The biggest most ruthless female orphan social climber, Reese Witherspoon again plays a rising socialite in the ruthless world of elite society that not only honors standing but also nobility.The movie is pretty typical in its plot of rags to riches… and to behonest it ran really, really long.But what got me was the beautiful costume design and how beautiful them movie is. They have a great cast, and a decent watch, free of stress but it does run on the boring side.Plus Becky Sharp is her name… and it doesn't seem like a name of that period… you know?

kneiss1 I really loved the cast, set and music. It was simply great to watch. Acting has been on a very high level, all characters have been drawn impressive. I had a lot of fun watching the movie! There have been very few things that disturbed me. The only things that disturbed me, have been in the story.When it came to "side-stories", some things have been a bit overdone story-wise, or simply haven't been very convincing. This I am able to accept. But I can't accept that the main character is not drawn in a consistent way. Sometimes she seems like a immoral social climber, then again she is is the loving, strong, morally feminist. This two things don't go together, at least, it hasn't been convincingly done in this movie. And because of this, I failed to understand a possible message that this movie could have given. Especially with the silly, obligatory Hollywood ending, every message has been destroyed. Allowing the movie to end just before Witherspoon went to India would have made a hell of a lot more sense.

macz None of the reviews I have read thus far would seem to have commented on the music & dance sequence towards the latter part of the film. The sequence depicted 'native' dancers performing an 'ethnic' dance to some equally 'ethnic' music. Both the choreography and the music seemed to draw from a wide variety of styles, i.e. Latin- American, African, Arabic - styles which would simply not have existed in the early 19th century! How on earth could the director have got it so wrong? The sequence was laughable, almost Pythonesque in its absurdity. For me this was the final straw in a piece that had struggled from the start to hold itself together. Even the very talented Miss Witherspoon looked fairly clueless throughout most of the film.