Easy Virtue (2008)

Director:

Stephan Elliott

Writers:

Stephan Elliott (written by) &
Sheridan Jobbins (written by) ...

Release Date:

7 November 2008 (Ireland)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Let's Misbehave!

Plot:

A young Englishman marries a glamorous American. When he brings her home to meet the parents, she arrives like a blast from the future - blowing their entrenched British stuffiness out the window.

Plot Keywords:

Fox Hunt | Cancan | Country Life | Barking Dog | Country House

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Jessica Biel	...	Larita Whittaker
Ben Barnes	...	John Whittaker
Kristin Scott Thomas	...	Mrs. Whittaker
Colin Firth	...	Mr. Whittaker
Kimberley Nixon	...	Hilda Whittaker
Katherine Parkinson	...	Marion Whittaker
Kris Marshall	...	Furber
Christian Brassington	...	Phillip Hurst
Charlotte Riley	...	Sarah Hurst
Jim McManus	...	Jackson
Pip Torrens	...	Lord Hurst
Jeremy Hooton	...	Davis
Joanna Bacon	...	Cook
Maggie Hickey	...	Millie the Maid
John Warburton	...	Mr. Gribble

Also Known As:

Bons Costumes (Brazil) [pt]
Buenas costumbres (Argentina) [es]
Easy Virtue - Eine unmoralische Frau (Germany) (DVD title) [de]
Enas oneiremenos gamos (Greece) [el]
Evlilik sinavi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Kerglased kombed (Estonia) [et]
Kevytkenkäinen (Finland) [fi]
Secrete din trecut (Romania) [ro]
Små skandaler (Sweden) [sv]
Un mariage de rêve (France) [fr]
Un matrimonio all'inglese (Italy) [it]
Una familia con clase (Spain) [es]
Virtude Fácil (Portugal) [pt]
Wojna domowa (Poland) [pl]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual content, brief partial nudity, and smoking throughout.

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

UK | Canada

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:12A | UK:PG | USA:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | UK:12 (DVD rating) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Netherlands:AL | Canada:G (British Columbia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Sweden:Btl | Singapore:PG | France:U | South Korea:15

Filming Locations:

Ealing Studios, Ealing, London, England, UK

Company:

Ealing Studios

Trivia:

In the vintage Monte Carlo scene which opens the movie, when Larita first sees John both her and John's movements are slowed down while the rest of the cast play at 'normal' (i.e newsreel) speed. This was accomplished by filming the crowd, Larita, John, the background and the foreground mechanics separately against green screen and compositing them together at different speeds.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Both Larita and Marion are seen reading "Lady Chatterley's Lover," which was not published in England until 1960 (the film is set in the late 1920s or early 1930s). (Of course, Larita could have brought the book with her from the Continent.)

Quotes:

Mrs. Whittaker: Smile, Marion.
Marion Whittaker: I don't feel like smiling.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Breakfast: (2009-12-07)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going

Enthralling opening up of neglected Coward play; not for the shallow or juvenile

While I normally prefer film versions of famous plays to be as faithful as possible to the original works, this lovingly opened up, perfectly cast and filmed elaboration of Noel Coward's very edgy "comedy" - a treatise on post-WWI morality and the culture shock Britain went through - would almost certainly have made the Master enormously proud. It certainly provides more quality entertainment than any intelligent audience has been served up in many an intellectually sterile, bombastically overcharged year at the cineplex.

Usually when a film leaves you feeling that you've experienced a full evening in only just over an hour and a half, it's an indictment of the plodding pace and dragged out text - but not in the case of this fast paced, lavishly set piece fairly packed with ideas and events. The period references (perfectly chosen Coward, Porter and other period and period style music, news clippings of "current" events like Houdini's death, the "latest" 1920's farm equipment, "advanced" books, etc.) used to enhance our trip back in time come thick and fast in the first minutes only to be followed in just as quick order by the elements of culture shock Ben Barnes' John Whittaker brings back to his BRIDESHEAD REVISITED-style household along with his new American wife, played by the film's impressive technical lead, Jessica Biel.

So "opened up" is the piece in fact (on second viewing, the period references and extra "bits" like the inappropriate, MAME-like, fox hunt joke and questionable dog bit - while both undeniably funny - almost seem TOO thickly layered on), that the "secret" around which Coward's original play turned is unnecessarily "ratcheted up" and left for rather late in the evening - somewhat as Coward himself did with many of his plot points in his other comedy of ill manners revolving around ill scheduled visits to another country home of the same original year, HAY FEVER.

In truth however, this is an ensemble piece with everyone carrying their own bountiful load of surprises and moments to shine, although Colin Firth's quiet voice of understanding and reason and Kristin Scott Thomas's gorgon protector of family tradition and propriety very nearly walk away with the film. ALL those elements which drew lavish praise in earlier English country home films are here in abundance and with far more affection and honesty than, say, Robert Altman's over praised (and over long) 2001 GOSFORD PARK in which Ms. Thomas also shone - if then with far less substance to work with.

Since this examination of adult values and culture shock is clearly not for the "TRANSFORMERS" set with little or no frame of reference, one can only admire the film's considered management by its producers, slowly exposing it in welcoming festivals garnering awards and nominations from the *right* audiences and building momentum for general release. With Pixar's early summer success with an *adult* mentality based animated film, UP, the time may be perfect for this new (Alfred Hitchcock first filmed the play in 1927, in an interesting departure from his normal oeuvre, akin to his excellent 1930 version of O'Casey's JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK) and very welcome EASY VIRTUE. I just hope they aren't working too hard refining it enroute to general release - the distinctive last line mentioned in several early reviews was no longer in the print I saw - replaced by a bit of a cliché quote tied to a new song over the final credits.

If the plot resolution at the final curtain is a bit of an unexpected let down, it always was - even in Coward's original - and in this case, the journey is well worth the ride. Almost wonderful almost all the way through: a "don't miss" for any fan of Coward or intelligent film making. I haven't sat through another film twice in a row - and enjoyed it as much both times - since the film version of 1776 opened back in 1972! Well worth the ride.