As another poster commented, some novels are simply not good candidates for film. Alas, Edith Wharton's, "The House of Mirth" was such a novel. Despite an effective screen play that is faithful to the book, and uses much of Wharton's dialogue, the movie is talky and often slow. Despite these failings I give high marks to the cast, particularly the luminously beautiful and charismatic Gillian Anderson, as Lilly Bart, and Anthony LaPaglia as Sim Rosewood.
Wharton's story is intensely sad and often bitter. It's characters, members of upper class New York Society a hundred years ago, talk in a code that is difficult to understand without Wharton's helpful narrative. I particularly missed this in the film because Wharton was an acute observer of that milieu and was very, very smart, to boot. Despite the absence of Wharton's narrative, however, the film has merit. Lilly Bart is a tragic heroine in the classic sense of the word. Like Hamlet, she is her own worst enemy because she cannot commit to any given course of action, and her problems are exacerbated by ill luck and genuine evil committed against her.
One note on the quality of the print I saw. The Showtime print had a distressing yellowish caste that made it appear that all of the performers had malaria.
It's weaknesses aside I recommend this movie but warn that those who have not read the Wharton's novel may not like it as well as do those of us who have read the book. 7 out of 10.
Wharton's story is intensely sad and often bitter. It's characters, members of upper class New York Society a hundred years ago, talk in a code that is difficult to understand without Wharton's helpful narrative. I particularly missed this in the film because Wharton was an acute observer of that milieu and was very, very smart, to boot. Despite the absence of Wharton's narrative, however, the film has merit. Lilly Bart is a tragic heroine in the classic sense of the word. Like Hamlet, she is her own worst enemy because she cannot commit to any given course of action, and her problems are exacerbated by ill luck and genuine evil committed against her.
One note on the quality of the print I saw. The Showtime print had a distressing yellowish caste that made it appear that all of the performers had malaria.
It's weaknesses aside I recommend this movie but warn that those who have not read the Wharton's novel may not like it as well as do those of us who have read the book. 7 out of 10.