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

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 Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | 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:

Phillip Hurst: Game one of the Antarctic open, Mr Whitaker to South.
[John serves straight into Hilda's backside]
Hilda Whittaker: Oooow!
Phillip Hurst: Hole in one!
John Whittaker: Deuce
Phillip Hurst: [continues to commentate as they play] I see your pair of deuces, and I raise you a tenor... The titanic could've hit that... Sarah, you're an embarrassment to the Hurst family name, I'm going to have you killed.

Movie Connections:

Version of Easy Virtue (1928)

Soundtrack:

When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going

Witty & Wonderful

Easy Virtue is a very liberal adaptation of Noel Coward's play. Director Stephan Elliot (The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert) has tried to make the film more contemporary and very distinct from the Merchant-Ivory school of film.

The story is set in the roaring twenties where John (Ben Barnes) from an aristocratic English family marries Larita (Jessica Biel), an American race driver, after a whirlwind romance in France. However his mother Veronica (Kristin Scott Thomas) is none too pleased while John's father Jim (colin Firth) finds a soul mate in Larita. These relationships, including those with John's sisters, make for a very intriguing and entertaining hour and a half, The acting, as could be expected from such a cast is uniformly excellent with perhaps Jessica Biel standing out a little more.

One of Stephan Elliot's nice touches is an anachronistic use of such songs as Car Wash and Sex Bomb, done in a very twenties style. The addition of a hilarious "dog scene" is another nice touch. Fans of Noel Coward (and even Merchant-Ivory) won't be disappointed.