Vanity Fair
I have chosen Vanity Fair (2004) directed by Mira Nair, as my first piece for no reason other than I have seen it very recently and afterwards I spent several hours contemplating some of the themes I was able to pick out. It is based on the novel by William Makepiece Thackeray, a contemporary of Charles Dickens. Now before I proceed I want to make it quite clear that this in not a movie review blog. I will be delving into the stories and using major parts of the plot to yank out meaning....i.e. Spoiler Alert!!! on every film selected. If you have not seen Vanity Fair, and if you enjoy historical fiction period pieces, or if you enjoy dramas dealing with social class struggles especially "high society" and those who would like to one day enter it, such as The Age of Innocence do not read this post.
That being said, this film surprised me by its beauty, and left me dwelling on the plot instead of taking my nap as I was supposed to be doing. The cinematography was great, the dialogue sharp, and the acting was done well. The main character Becky Sharp comes from one of the lower pegs of 19th Century British society, as her mother was a French Opera Singer, something quite beneath the level of decent British woman in that day, and her father was a starving artist. However, Becky as a child makes puppet dramas about those in "high society" and has dreams of getting there herself one day. One rich Marquess collects her father's work, and Becky attempts to name a price so high that he will not pay for a portrait of her mother. Becky finds that sometimes no price is too high for the rich. She is soon after orphaned and taken to a school for girls where is educated and expected to serve as a maid. By the time she leaves she has only been treated well by one person, her best friend Amelia who is a daughter of a rich tradesman.
Much later in the film Becky encounters this Marquess again at an auction of her friend Amelia's family. Now Amelia's family did not accept Becky. The mother hated her, and the brother courted her and dropped her after Amelia's fiance persuaded him to do so. Becky leaves them to begin work as a governess, but gives Amelia a present, the last small portrait she had of her father's. Ok, now back to the auction...Amelia's father has squandered all their money on a scheme that Amelia's fiance's father pushed him to speculate toward (like buying stock). They are auctioning everything of value that they own. Becky and her husband are there and he offers to buy it back for Becky. However, the Marquess shows up and out bids him.
Later in the film, Becky's marriage becomes strained because they are cut off from any inheritance, and her husband does not make much as a soldier. The Marquess is aware that she is living in his neighborhood, and he witnesses bill collectors repossessing her furniture. He steps in and pays them off. He also leaves her a large sum of money and promises to invite her to one of his parties, in other words to usher her into high society. He warns her that she will be rejected by the women gatekeepers, and that there is nothing hidden behind the "curtain." She still desires to be one of them the elite. Perhaps she has always wanted this.
As things progress she finds herself more and more in the debt of the Marquess. He even goes to the lengths of confessing his love for her and attempting to seduce her, and even throwing her husband into debtors prison. She naively thought that this could have been avoided, but as the Marquess reminds he always holds people to their debt.
Although there is much to comment on concerning the family of Becky's husband and their marriage as well, there is something that the viewer understands that he does not. When he leaves her she cries out to him that she loved him in her way i.e. selfishly, but he does not understand the journey she has taken. He says that he has taken it with her and walks away. Since the time that a rich high class gentleman taught her a lesson of the power of wealth, she determined that the impoverished life was not for her. When her dream of a life of wealth with Amelia's brother was stripped from her by another rich snob of a tradesman, she determined that she would trump him and those of his class. So she took aim for the "House of Lords."
She was tricked into believing that her marriage to the second son of an earl would be acceptable to his family. The wealthy matron of the family took Becky in, praised her, and told her she loved romantic elopements. Her nephew loved Becky,but she refused to sleep with him unless they could be married. He tried to warn Becky that his aunt would turn against them, for romance was acceptable only in novels not in real life.
So our main character's plans of a better life were foiled again, as her new family cuts them off. She has a wonderful husband who loves her and a beautiful son, but it is not enough. She almost lost her husband to war, but all she learned from the experience was that she still was not accepted by the upper class. Her sins, or errors, were dishonesty, selfishness, and pride. If she had told her husband immediately about the Marquess paying their debt and giving her money he could have steered her away from the consequences which ripped them apart. He could at least have refused the money and made his stand to the Marquess rather than later on when it was too late. He probably should have moved them out of the posh house in London to a more realistic life in order to save his marriage. But he choose to let Becky do as she pleased, growing more disgusted with her by the day. He lacked the courage to take his place as the leader. Later he just stands by as the Marquess sends his son, the one pure thing in his life, away to school. He is too afraid to stand up to his foe...he is afraid to say no to his wife.
Also there was one scene that was really moving. They are getting ready for their first party at the house of the Marquess, and Becky is very happy. She tries to convince him of how great this opportunity is of entering high society at last. He says to her, "I am just afraid of what we might lose." That one line is the defining line. At the end of it all Becky has lost her husband who truly loved her, her son who loved her as well, the place in society that she worked so hard to grasp, her reputation, and homeland. She cannot survive in England anymore. She ends up working at a casino in Germany where young boys pawn over her every night. When she finds her friend Amelia she discovers that they have both been fools. Amelia refused to remarry a man who loved her for years because of the memory of her dead husband, who never ,in fact, cared for her. Becky gives Amelia the gift of truth, which allows her to start a new life with love that is unconditional. Amelia then gives Becky a gift. The brother who dropped Becky years before scoops her out of her sad life and carries her off to India where Becky experiences what it means to live a good life. This is truly a picture of Christ redeeming us from our pit of despair and "clothing us with love and compassion."
That being said, this film surprised me by its beauty, and left me dwelling on the plot instead of taking my nap as I was supposed to be doing. The cinematography was great, the dialogue sharp, and the acting was done well. The main character Becky Sharp comes from one of the lower pegs of 19th Century British society, as her mother was a French Opera Singer, something quite beneath the level of decent British woman in that day, and her father was a starving artist. However, Becky as a child makes puppet dramas about those in "high society" and has dreams of getting there herself one day. One rich Marquess collects her father's work, and Becky attempts to name a price so high that he will not pay for a portrait of her mother. Becky finds that sometimes no price is too high for the rich. She is soon after orphaned and taken to a school for girls where is educated and expected to serve as a maid. By the time she leaves she has only been treated well by one person, her best friend Amelia who is a daughter of a rich tradesman.
Much later in the film Becky encounters this Marquess again at an auction of her friend Amelia's family. Now Amelia's family did not accept Becky. The mother hated her, and the brother courted her and dropped her after Amelia's fiance persuaded him to do so. Becky leaves them to begin work as a governess, but gives Amelia a present, the last small portrait she had of her father's. Ok, now back to the auction...Amelia's father has squandered all their money on a scheme that Amelia's fiance's father pushed him to speculate toward (like buying stock). They are auctioning everything of value that they own. Becky and her husband are there and he offers to buy it back for Becky. However, the Marquess shows up and out bids him.
Later in the film, Becky's marriage becomes strained because they are cut off from any inheritance, and her husband does not make much as a soldier. The Marquess is aware that she is living in his neighborhood, and he witnesses bill collectors repossessing her furniture. He steps in and pays them off. He also leaves her a large sum of money and promises to invite her to one of his parties, in other words to usher her into high society. He warns her that she will be rejected by the women gatekeepers, and that there is nothing hidden behind the "curtain." She still desires to be one of them the elite. Perhaps she has always wanted this.
As things progress she finds herself more and more in the debt of the Marquess. He even goes to the lengths of confessing his love for her and attempting to seduce her, and even throwing her husband into debtors prison. She naively thought that this could have been avoided, but as the Marquess reminds he always holds people to their debt.
Although there is much to comment on concerning the family of Becky's husband and their marriage as well, there is something that the viewer understands that he does not. When he leaves her she cries out to him that she loved him in her way i.e. selfishly, but he does not understand the journey she has taken. He says that he has taken it with her and walks away. Since the time that a rich high class gentleman taught her a lesson of the power of wealth, she determined that the impoverished life was not for her. When her dream of a life of wealth with Amelia's brother was stripped from her by another rich snob of a tradesman, she determined that she would trump him and those of his class. So she took aim for the "House of Lords."
She was tricked into believing that her marriage to the second son of an earl would be acceptable to his family. The wealthy matron of the family took Becky in, praised her, and told her she loved romantic elopements. Her nephew loved Becky,but she refused to sleep with him unless they could be married. He tried to warn Becky that his aunt would turn against them, for romance was acceptable only in novels not in real life.
So our main character's plans of a better life were foiled again, as her new family cuts them off. She has a wonderful husband who loves her and a beautiful son, but it is not enough. She almost lost her husband to war, but all she learned from the experience was that she still was not accepted by the upper class. Her sins, or errors, were dishonesty, selfishness, and pride. If she had told her husband immediately about the Marquess paying their debt and giving her money he could have steered her away from the consequences which ripped them apart. He could at least have refused the money and made his stand to the Marquess rather than later on when it was too late. He probably should have moved them out of the posh house in London to a more realistic life in order to save his marriage. But he choose to let Becky do as she pleased, growing more disgusted with her by the day. He lacked the courage to take his place as the leader. Later he just stands by as the Marquess sends his son, the one pure thing in his life, away to school. He is too afraid to stand up to his foe...he is afraid to say no to his wife.
Also there was one scene that was really moving. They are getting ready for their first party at the house of the Marquess, and Becky is very happy. She tries to convince him of how great this opportunity is of entering high society at last. He says to her, "I am just afraid of what we might lose." That one line is the defining line. At the end of it all Becky has lost her husband who truly loved her, her son who loved her as well, the place in society that she worked so hard to grasp, her reputation, and homeland. She cannot survive in England anymore. She ends up working at a casino in Germany where young boys pawn over her every night. When she finds her friend Amelia she discovers that they have both been fools. Amelia refused to remarry a man who loved her for years because of the memory of her dead husband, who never ,in fact, cared for her. Becky gives Amelia the gift of truth, which allows her to start a new life with love that is unconditional. Amelia then gives Becky a gift. The brother who dropped Becky years before scoops her out of her sad life and carries her off to India where Becky experiences what it means to live a good life. This is truly a picture of Christ redeeming us from our pit of despair and "clothing us with love and compassion."
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