Vanity Fair – Jahrmarkt der Eitelkeit (2004)

Vanity Fair – Jahrmarkt der Eitelkeit: Directed by Mira Nair. With Gabriel Byrne, Angelica Mandy, Roger Lloyd Pack, Ruth Sheen. Growing up poor in London, Becky Sharp defies her poverty-stricken background and ascends the social ladder alongside her best friend, Amelia Sedley.

“u0026#39;Vanity Fairu0026#39; is the perfect title for this story, showing us a world of cold characters with impersonal motives; a world where marriage is just another move in a chess game where the opponent is poverty and, perhaps more importantly, unpopularity. At the center of this movie is Becky Sharp (Reese Witherspoon), a beautiful blonde from a terribly poor family (her father was a talented but poor artist). We meet her first when she is a young girl, and we see that she is already stubborn and manipulative, when she demands ten guineas for a portrait of her mother that is being sold to a wealthy aristocrat (Gabriel Byrne) for four. He agrees, probably not because he thinks itu0026#39;s worth it, but because he admires the fire and spirit in the young girl. Heu0026#39;ll come into play later.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWe see her next after completing finishing school and being sent off to be a governess for Sir Pitt Crawley (Bob Hoskins), a scruffy old man whou0026#39;s just barely getting by, with a dusty mansion and rude servants. She leaves for Pitt with her friend Amelia (Romola Garai), who is engaged to an officer George Osborne (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers). Ameliau0026#39;s engagement does not stop her from talking to Becky about the benefits of marrying a wealthy man, and it is here that we first see the mindset of most of the women in the film. Since they donu0026#39;t have many promising career prospects (those were for the men) they want to seduce a rich man to gain wealth, and popularity, and happiness too, I guess.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnd Becky is great at playing the game. When she stays with Ameliau0026#39;s family in London before going to the Crawleys, she meets Ameliau0026#39;s awkward (and heavy) brother (Tony Maudsley), a wealthy man from India, and starts a seduction that is in a way kind of obvious, but she knows that the insecure Joseph couldnu0026#39;t possibly see through it. And he doesnu0026#39;t, he wants to marry her, and she wants that, but itu0026#39;s George who talks him out of it.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSo, Becky is finished with her detour and moves to the Crawleyu0026#39;s, where she teaches his kids perfect French and even cleans up the mansion when his wealthy sister Matilde (Eileen Atkins) arrives. Matilde is an undeniable snob who claims to have a romantic heart, but with mean put-downs ready for everyone in the house. She takes a liking to Becky for her own cleverness and invites her to live with her and her nephew Rawdon Crawley (James Purefoy) in London. Becky accepts, of course, itu0026#39;s another step up.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSo, she is back in London and reunites with Amelia, George, and Georgeu0026#39;s soldier friend William Dobbin (Rhys Ifans). She also recognizes Matildeu0026#39;s neighbor, Lord Steyne, the man who bought her motheru0026#39;s portrait all those years ago. Sheu0026#39;s back in the game, but she falls prey to her heart and elopes with Rawdon, angering Matilde enough to cut Rawdon out of her will (she loves romantic stories, she says, but not in real life!).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBecky hasnu0026#39;t been completely consumed by her love, though. She still has that cunning agenda of her own, which includes getting pregnant in hopes of gaining sympathy from Matilde, and attending all the major parties, shows and banquets in London despite her lower class.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut Rawdon is a gambler and their wealth and public image starts to drop significantly. This is when we see the extent of Beckyu0026#39;s agenda, when she accepts Steyne as her mentor, despite his A) being a horrible man and B) clearly wanting Becky for his bedroom, not his student. But Steyne is seductive in his own right, and buys Becky the most expensive and beautiful jewelry, shows her to great parties and even casts her as the lead in a dance show he directed. Their relationship is one of the most intriguing points of the film, kind of similar to that of Fast Eddie Felson and Bert Gordon, and Laura Hunt and Waldo Lydecker.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDespite most of its characters being cunning and sinister, u0026#39;Vanity Fairu0026#39; is a distinctly moral movie. Pitt Crawley Jr. (Douglas Hodge) is awkward and kind of dull, but his honesty and kindness gives him a stable, happy life, and Josephu0026#39;s own earnestness pays off for him in the end. But the most important is the story of William Dobbinu0026#39;s undying love for Amelia, and how heu0026#39;s so gentlemanly about it. He doesnu0026#39;t urge her into adultery, and when she mistakes a piano heu0026#39;s bought for her for a present from George he doesnu0026#39;t correct her. I wonu0026#39;t say how this story ends, but itu0026#39;ll most likely pull a tear from the girls in the audience. Ifansu0026#39; is a fantastic, heartbreaking performance, the best of the movie.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMira Nairu0026#39;s direction is awesome as well, what other director could make a passable (even good) glittery, belly-dancing scene in a Victorian drama. The Oscar for costume design will most certainly go to this, and its set design makes the best competition to u0026#39;The Terminalu0026#39; so far this year.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs for acting Oscars, well, the way the movie switches from story to story doesnu0026#39;t quite let us get to know most of the characters, but some great performances can still be found here. Particularly Rhys Ifans, whose performance is so quiet and strong, and Eileen Atkins, who is perfect and hilarious, a true scene-stealer of her performance (and maybe even Byrne, too).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnd then thereu0026#39;s Witherspoon, in one of her best performances as Becky Sharp, the girl who, after learning her lesson by the end, is so stubborn that sheu0026#39;s at it again, 7.5/10.”