Easy Virtue (2008)

Directed by: Stephan Elliott | 97 minutes | comedy, romance | Actors: Jessica Biel, Ben Barnes, Kristin Scott Thomas, Colin Firth, Kimberley Nixon, Katherine Parkinson, Kris Marshall, Christian Brassington, Charlotte Riley, Jim McManus, Pip Torrens, Jeremy Hooton, Joanna Bacon, Maggie Hickey, John Warburton, Georgie Glen , David Longstaff, Michael Archer, Rebel Penfold-Russell

Noël Coward was only 25 when he wrote his acclaimed play ‘Easy Virtue’ in 1924. The British writer, actor and musician was extremely popular at the time, thanks in part to the success of his controversial play ‘The Vortex’, which played on both sides of the world. the ocean was a hit. ‘Easy Virtue’ also benefited from that success. This melodrama, about a free-spirited American woman who gets into a fight with her stiff British in-laws, is characterized by the razor-sharp sarcastic dialogues for which Coward would later be remembered. In 1928 none other than Alfred Hitchcock filmed ‘Easy Virtue’. It became one of the worst films by the grandmaster, who was still at the beginning of his impressive career. The piece does not exactly lend itself to a silent performance, as the power lies in the dialogues. The only one-liner left in Hitchcock’s film is when Mrs. Whittaker asks ‘Have you had as many lovers as they say?’ and her daughter-in-law Larita replies, ‘Of course not. Hardly any of them actually loved me.’

Stephan Elliott thought it was high time to polish ‘Easy Virtue’ again and made his own version in 2008. In doing so, unlike Hitchcock, he remains close to the original play. John (Ben Barnes), the still young son of a well-to-do British family, gets to know the handsome and elderly American Larita (Jessica Biel) in France, who celebrates great successes as a racing driver there. Head over heels the couple marries, after which they visit John’s family to tell the happy news. His mother Veronica (Kristin Scott Thomas) almost immediately turns her nose up at this woman of easy virtue. His sisters Marion (Katherine Parkinson) and Hilda (Kimberley Nixon) initially run away with Larita, but the mood quickly changes when she accidentally sits on the family’s yelp and lets Hilda embarrass herself before the watchful eyes of the family. whole village. The only one who gets along with her is John’s father Jim (Colin Firth), who is scarred by traumatic World War I experiences and finds himself trapped in his marriage to the bossy, manipulative Veronica.

To start right off with the positives: ‘Easy Virtue’ is a very entertaining film that owes a lot of credit to native actors Colin Firth, Kristin Scott Thomas and writer Noël Coward. It’s unbelievable that Hitchcock had to manage without all those tasty one-liners from the writer eighty years earlier, as they provide the story with much-needed fireworks. Where Firth and Scott Thomas have no trouble carrying the piece, Jessica Biel clearly lacks acting talent. She hardly convinces as the older, independent woman who tries to take the inexperienced John in tow (in reality, Biel is several months younger than her opponent Barnes, by the way). Someone like Charlize Theron might have been more appropriate. The other characters are only moderately developed; their contribution to the story is practically negligible. Only Kris Marshall, as the butler Furber, manages to escape this malaise, he regularly comes out hilarious. Elliott also comes with some loose ends in the story (Marion’s lost fiancé and the dubious relationship between Veronica and family friend Hurst, for example), which he never does anything with.

By the way, the film made by the famous British Ealing Studios looks beautiful. Clothing, decors and sets are to pass through a ring. They really take you back to the Roaring Twenties. In principle, Coward’s story is timeless, but the way Elliott has handled it makes it a bit corny. To give it a modern twist, he has added a remarkable soundtrack to his film. Modern songs such as ‘Sex Bomb’ by Tom Jones and Billy Ocean’s ‘When the Going Gets Tough’ – largely sung by the cast members – are presented in genuine big band version. In this way Elliot tries too hard to appeal to a younger audience. The result, however, is that ‘Easy Virtue’ comes across as a messy mishmash. modern vs. Roaring Twenties. This is partly due to the fact that the piece cannot be pigeonholed. Sometimes comedy has the upper hand, then again the mood abruptly changes into melodrama of the highest order. And then the mystery surrounding Larita’s past lurks somewhere in the background. In this way, the linearity is hard to find.

‘Easy Virtue’ may have its flaws, but the film still stands. That’s the credit of reliable actors Colin Firth and Kristin Scott Thomas. Firth can indulge in some witty one-liners and is all in all the most sympathetic character, while Scott Thomas as the insufferable, hypocritical mother-in-law who frantically tries to keep up appearances once again proves to be one of the best actresses of her generation. By staying true to Noël Coward’s original, Stephan Elliott has created a film that is more entertaining than Hitchcock’s 1928 version. Though the future master of suspense was, of course, limited in his resources and was far from reaching his artistic peak.