Vanity Fair (2004) 
Directed by Mira Nair
Starring Reese Witherspoon, James Purefoy, Gabriel Byrne
What makes a film good and what turns a good film into a great film, I wonder? Well, personally, I guess a great film comes along when it manages to pull you into the character's journey and the situations he/she may be in and you somehow subconsciously fall prey to the emotional "trap" of the character. In other words, you start to empathize with him/her and you have anchored your feelings for the person in the film. By the end of the film, you realized that you do care for this particular "make-believed" character in the film. Well, 
going into the film without much expectation, I started watching Vanity Fair, mostly because of Reese Witherspoon for I like her in Walk The Line (very much) and Just Like Heaven. Apart from beautifully photographed, I could not seem to anchor my emotions for Becky Sharp and the journey that she had to go through to survive in that ruthless high society back then. Sometimes, it felt contrived, for instance, the scene where she dances that Indian dance. For me, it felt more like it was put there for Mira Nair wanted to show the Indian influence then and not so much to support the storyline. The same goes to the ending of the film - 
the colourful parade down the Indian street with the elephants and the cheerful crowd. But then, I have to say that the production designer, Maria Djurkovis and costume designer, Beatrix Aruna Pasztor both did a great job in the film for the costumes are a feast to the eyes and the set designs were marvelous. Other than that, it just seemed like a stylishly done film that could have been great but merely entertaining without much soul. I do believe it's always the hardest to strike a balance between aesthetics (style) and real content (substance) or more importantly, how to remain true to the art of simple storytelling.
going into the film without much expectation, I started watching Vanity Fair, mostly because of Reese Witherspoon for I like her in Walk The Line (very much) and Just Like Heaven. Apart from beautifully photographed, I could not seem to anchor my emotions for Becky Sharp and the journey that she had to go through to survive in that ruthless high society back then. Sometimes, it felt contrived, for instance, the scene where she dances that Indian dance. For me, it felt more like it was put there for Mira Nair wanted to show the Indian influence then and not so much to support the storyline. The same goes to the ending of the film - the colourful parade down the Indian street with the elephants and the cheerful crowd. But then, I have to say that the production designer, Maria Djurkovis and costume designer, Beatrix Aruna Pasztor both did a great job in the film for the costumes are a feast to the eyes and the set designs were marvelous. Other than that, it just seemed like a stylishly done film that could have been great but merely entertaining without much soul. I do believe it's always the hardest to strike a balance between aesthetics (style) and real content (substance) or more importantly, how to remain true to the art of simple storytelling. 
1 comment:
We so wanted to walk out of this film! And when we finally did, we couldn't stop spitting... hehe
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