IMDb user comments for
Easy Virtue (2008) More at IMDbPro »

Filter:

Best Chronological Prolific Authors Loved It Hated It Hide Spoilers:

Page 1 of 5:

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Index

50 comments in total

---

60 out of 90 people found the following review useful:
Witty & Wonderful, 14 October 2008

Author: corrosion-2

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.

---

43 out of 68 people found the following review useful:
Funny, heart-warming and delightfully engrossing., 10 November 2008

Author: Jamie Ward from United Kingdom

2008 has been a mixed bag thus far as far as character dramas are concerned, with the majority either lacking in any interesting personas and the remainder usually lacking in anything remotely fun about the experience. Thankfully, Easy Virtue takes residence amongst the minority of this year's examples, blending a wonderful ensemble of characters and respective performers with plenty of humour, romance and palpable charm. As a musical per se, which one could place the movie given the role that music plays in its narrative, the music is catchy, but always played in the background to what is going on with characters. So while the numbers certainly don't ever take off, the harmony created between the film's immediate interests always take precedence over the aesthetics, no matter how inviting and well done those elements are implemented. Sure enough, there isn't much in the way of flaws present within Easy Virtue's two hour runtime outside of the fact that it can sometimes drag on in terms of plotting. Nevertheless, despite small pacing problems, Easy Virtue is a wonderfully breezy, and yet hard hitting portrayal of relationships, both temporal and unconditional.

Where each of these sources of love comes from it seems is where the writers seem most interested in exploring; rather than sticking to the genre's more conventional set of rules, the movie instead takes a familiar, albeit refreshing route. Telling the story of Larita (Jessica Biel), an American race-car driver newly wed to love of her life John Whittaker (Ben Barnes) as she moves into her husband's inherited estate for the holidays, Easy Virtue take the romantic comedy and heats things up a little. The centrepiece of the story revolves around the idea that John's English aristocratic family either immediately resents Larita's presence or soon adheres to this mind-frame. This conflict draws most firmly from John's mother (Kristen Scott Thomas) who takes an especially vindictive and callous attitude towards her big-eyed, fresh faced and glamorously intimidating daughter in law.

This relationship, although not falling far from the genre's tree of ideas and structure, nevertheless does well to keep things grounded and believable. Very rarely are theatrics employed to establish the characters' obvious confliction, and as such both grow as the movie wears on, allowing not just drama to unfold from the proceedings, but comedy also. To say that Easy Virtue is a funny movie would be somewhat of an exaggeration; this isn't a comedy by any means, but it's not a straight forward drama or romance either. Instead director Stephen Elliot manages to do what so little directors of the genre actually succeed in implementing; a fine blend of all three ingredients whilst at the same time keeping characterisation consistent and engaging. Again these ingredients are most fully realised in the triangle of mother/son and the new girl in his life, with each ingredient sharing enough screen time to warrant interest; Easy Virtue isn't a funny movie no… it's a funny, heart-warming and delightfully engrossing movie with plenty of intelligent drama and aesthetics.

Nevertheless, regardless of genre tagging, and the tricky balancing act involved in handling such a mix, the real potency of heart present that makes Easy Virtue such a joy to watch is simply through its characters and their relationships together. Mentioned above, the centrepiece of this endlessly amusing mix of character is the dynamic between Larita and her new mother in law. What's most interesting about this pairing however doesn't necessarily always reside in their obviously conflictive facades, but within the thematic subtext that each brings to the story regarding lover and son John. Dealing primarily with the complexities of human relationships, and specifically love, the writers explore the different kinds of love and how they are more often than not wrongly interpreted or received. What's most interesting about the central figures then is that each seems to have swapped their traditional roles for the others; ostensibly Larita is seen a gold-digging, naïve lover who is only out for a short jog, whilst Mrs. Whittaker is instead presented as John's unconditional love source, undeniably in it for the long term. This paper thin appearance however is what Easy Virtue sets out to look past, and the results are both rewarding and intriguing, giving ample substance to back up the laughs.

Of course all of this would go to waste if given to less than capable performers to get across not just their own dynamic personas, but the relations and unique chemistry that they share together. Featuring a huge ensemble of recognisable British talents, along with the impressive Jessica Biel, it would take far too long a paragraph to go through each individually and analyse their performances, so I will simply cut a farily large corner and say that the entirety of the cast here do a wonderful job with each of their respective roles. Of notable interest is the always compelling Colin Firth as a rather withdrawn and bored husband, Ben Barnes who plays youthful, energetic and distinctly naïve John to a fine point and Kristen Scott Thomas who often parallels her sombre role in recent French production I've Loved You So Long. All of these performances however are just the tip of what is a surprisingly effective little treat for anyone looking for good adult fun, with plenty of intelligent humour and romance to boot. Sure enough there are some problems with pacing and over-emphasis on theatrical drama at rare occasions that clash with the film's otherwise consistently grounded tone, but these elements are far and few between each of the much more successful moments. Fun, engaging and entirely memorable, Easy Virtue is a rarity these days, so I cannot recommend it enough.

- A review by Jamie Robert Ward (http://www.invocus.net)

---

31 out of 46 people found the following review useful:
Easy Virtue - easy on the eyes - a charming and crafted film, 17 November 2008

Author: peter kobryn from United Kingdom

It is not uncommon in a film to see British "stiff upper lip" challenged and outflanked by an outsider - normally an American. As a Brit you learn to put aside any feelings of protectiveness and sensitivity and try to give the film it's fair credit when such a story is presented to you.

In the case of this film - Easy Virtue - this is not difficult to do as it is a well acted gem of a period piece that overcomes any of the initial worries about stereotypes and charms and amuses all the way through.

Kirstin Scott Thomas is superb as the glacial matriarch, Colin Firth detached and louche as her distant husband, Jessica Biel believable as the breath of fresh air ( gust of cold wind ) introduced into the family by the eager but naive son.

Kris Marshall gives an amusing performance as the world weary - seen it all butler and as a whole this is a good enjoyable film.

Taken as it is from a Noel Coward play, I am not sufficiently qualifies to comment on how much , or little, the film has changed the spirit of the play - I suspect not a lot as Mr Coward delighted in ridiculing the sensibilities of the British gentry and if the stiff upper lip is going to be ridiculed by anyone better that it is a Brit !!

---

29 out of 46 people found the following review useful:
Smart, sexy and shrewd, 1 November 2008

Author: john_faulkes from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Noël Coward wrote "Easy Virtue", the same summer he wrote "Hay Fever". It was produced several years later in the wake of his other great melodrama, "The Vortex". In his autobiography, "Present Indicative", Coward says that his object in writing the play was to present a comedy in the structure of a tragedy "to compare the déclassée woman of to-day with the more flamboyant demi-mondaine of the 1890's," - one in which he deliberately attacked the "smug attitude of Larita's in-laws." In short, Noël Coward wrote "Meet the Parents" in 1924.

That clash of culture, set in a time of almost identical financial boom and bust, is at the heart of Stephan Elliott's excellent adaptation. There is nothing 'liberal' or 'cheap' about it. "Easy Virtue" is all the things a Noël Coward film should be - it's smart, sexy and shrewd.

This is the story of a young man, John Whittaker played by Ben Barnes, who brings home a thoroughly inappropriate wife, Larita (Jessica Biel). You can sympathize with him - she's gorgeous, but basically he's brought a giraffe to Cambridgshire. His mother, Mrs Whittaker (in a diamond cut performance by Kristin Scott-Thomas) is not amused. Underscoring it all is a deftly sardonic performance by Colin Firth as the emotionally absent head of the household, Mr Whittaker. What happens to them all is a tragedy of time and place, but, like the fate of the family pet, it's also hilarious and satisfying.

Stephan Elliott was a brilliant choice for this film. Coward was the consummate inside outsider - the son of a clerk who mingled with aristocracy. Stephan Elliott is an Australian living in London - moving in the rare circle of celebrity and wealth. They are both masters of comic subversion.

Elliott has been true to Coward's desire to present a thoroughly contemporary film. His soundtrack, score and the subtle use of special effects all show us that this is a film to be taken lightly, while the characters played by Colin Firth and Kristin Scott-Thomas give us the weight and emotional resonance to let us know that they are serious.

But the film belongs to Biel. She delivers all the spirit and energy of an American snowboarder, with all the elegant sophistication of an old time screen siren. She is the new world 'blowing in' to the old and is tremendously sympathetic with it.

Add to that Ben Barnes' growing strength as an actor, and immense appeal to younger audiences and you have a film that will introduce a whole new generation to the romance of period films, while satisfying older fans that there is still life in the genre yet.

---

35 out of 61 people found the following review useful:
Brilliant from start to finish, 11 November 2008

Author: gerrystakes from Canada

From the flamboyant director of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, this sublime adaptation of Noel Coward's tragic-comic play zings with dazzling wit and impeccable timing delivered by acting of the highest order. Who knew Jessica Biel could be so delicious as the American interloping fallen woman? Among the British stars, Colin Firth provides the counterpoint gravitas as a WWI surviving member of the "lost generation" who turns the tables on his insufferable wife (Kristin Scott Thomas) and besotted son. Easily one of the most entertaining movies of the past several years, it deserved the genuine spontaneous standing ovation at the world premiere screening I attended at the Toronto film festival. Scott Thomas is devastating in a totally different French-speaking role in "I've loved you for so long", for which she deserves an Oscar nomination. But see this for arch Brit humor at its finest.

---

15 out of 22 people found the following review useful:
A thoroughly enjoyable British comedy., 8 April 2009

Author: sweet_lady_genevieve from United Kingdom

John Whittaker (Barnes) is travelling and falls in love with beautiful American divorcée, Larita (Biel). After spontaneously getting married, John brings her back to his stately home in England, where although many warm to her, she is largely frowned upon – especially by his formidable mother, Veronica (Scott Thomas), who makes her stay as uncomfortable as possible. Based on the original play by Noel Coward, 'Easy Virtue' encompasses sharp wit, romance and drama; and although it is set in 1920s England, it is far from the typical period drama that might be expected. The soundtrack is slightly risky in places with its rearrangement of contemporary songs to period-music; but this can be overlooked for everything else the film has to offer. Firth supplies brilliant one-liners as the war-weary husband of Veronica. Biel has a captivating presence, bringing sexiness and classic Hollywood glamour to the screen; whilst Thomas, in total opposition, plays the stiff-upper-lipped English mother-in-law to perfection. A thoroughly enjoyable British comedy.

---

18 out of 28 people found the following review useful:
That sound and authentic British humour!, 4 April 2009

Author: simona gianotti (yris2002@alice.it) from Italy

Brilliant, sparkling, joyful and sad, passionate and exciting, sweet and sour, elegant, refined and superbly ungraceful at the same time: contrasting adjectives are very fit for this captivating movie, which really hits the mark in a superb way. No flaw is to be found: the construction is solid and yet dynamic, highly-range acting is offered by the whole cast (but let me define Kristin Scott Thomas as sublime). The director creates a really enjoyable product, capable as it is of gaining the favour of the audience and to satisfy the viewer, both from an aesthetic and emotional point of view. The sound and authentic British humour stirring from the beginning to the end, makes one laugh but also think about the necessity to overcome a stuffy traditionalist attitude which make look back to a fossilized but no longer valid past,in order to let the new enter the scene, with all its dramatic potential of change. All certainties are questioned and prove to be dramatically frail. The conflict between the traditional English sobriety and self-control and the non-conformist American way of life gives rise to funny but also thoughtful moments of tension, subtly underlined by witty dialogues and emotionally engaging musical and dancing exchanges. A movie to be seen, heard, and enjoyed in every single part.

---

5 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Entertaining from start to finish, 1 July 2009

Author: GusF from Ireland

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I really enjoyed this movie. If there's one thing that I want to see in every movie, it's witty dialogue and I was certainly not disappointed on that front. But with Noel Coward, how could I be? Stephen Elliot assembled the perfect cast, all of whom fit their roles perfectly. Colin Firth and Kristin Scott Thomas have never turned in a bad performance. I was particularly (and pleasantly) surprised at Jessica Biel's acting. She was excellent and clearly doesn't get the recognition that she deserves as an actress. I don't think I've seen her act in anything since she was in "7th Heaven" 800 million years ago so I didn't know what to expect. There was never a false note in her performance and I can't praise her enough. The sole reason that the film misses out on a 10/10 rating is that I thought it'd be more comic and heart warming that it turned out to be. That was the only disappointment. One thing I did find distracting is that it's said several times that Larita, Jessica Biel's character, is quite a bit older than Ben Barnes' character John Whittaker whereas, in real life, he's actually older than her although not by much. I found it hard to suspend my disbelief at times because of this but it's a very minor thing really.

---

9 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
Beneath the brittle surface gaiety of the Twenties, 26 November 2008

Author: James Hitchcock from Tunbridge Wells, England

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

When I recently reviewed "Relative Values" I pointed out that it was the first English-language feature film to have been based on a Noel Coward play since the 1960s. That film was not, in my view, a great success, being little more than an examination of outdated social conventions that no-one cares about any more, and I came to the conclusion that Coward has largely been ignored by modern film-makers because he was very much a figure of his own age with little to offer the modern cinema-goer.

"Easy Virtue", however, has convinced me that I was wrong on this point, even though it is an even older play than "Relative Values", dating from the twenties rather than the fifties. The action takes place around 1928/1929. (References to the First World War having started "fourteen years ago" suggest the earlier date; references to the Valentine's Day Massacre, which occurred on 14th February 1929, suggest the latter). Like "Relative Values" the film is set in a stately home and concerns the romantic lives of the English upper classes. John, the son and heir of the aristocratic Whittaker family, has married a female American racing driver named Larita, whom he met while touring on the continent.

The film explores the differing reactions of John's family to his marriage. His mother, Veronica, is a formidable reactionary who believes passionately in keeping up the traditions of her class. She disapproves strongly of Larita, who has no intention of fitting in with the traditional country-house lifestyle. She is not keen on riding, for example, and objects to fox hunting on moral grounds. Her worst crime in Veronica's eyes, however, is to be poor. Although from the mid nineteenth century onwards it was by no means unknown for young American women to marry into the British nobility, most of these women were drawn from America's own aristocracy of the super-rich, and Larita is not a Rockefeller or Vanderbilt but the daughter of a Detroit car mechanic. The Whittakers are desperately in need of cash to maintain their stately home, and Veronica has long cherished the hope that John will marry Sarah, the daughter of their wealthy neighbour Lord Hurst. Even after his marriage, Veronica keeps hinting to John that it is his duty to divorce Larita and marry Sarah for the good of the family's wealth.

John's father Jim is very different in character, having been deeply scarred by his experiences in the First World War, when most of the men under his command were killed. Although the film is in form a comedy of manners it also has more serious undertones. The 1920s are sometimes thought of as a hedonistic interval between the war-torn 1910s and the economically depressed 1930s, but beneath the brittle surface gaiety of the Jazz Age was a deep sense of loss for the generation that had died on the battlefields and a deep sense of foreboding for the future. (Coward was not the only author to explore these feelings; they also appear in the novels of writers like Evelyn Waugh and Anthony Powell). After the war Jim disappeared to Paris, where he led a life of debauchery. Although Veronica tracked him down and persuaded him to return home, he no longer relishes the life of a country gentleman. He dresses scruffily, is frequently unshaven and prefers working as a blacksmith or mechanic in his workshop to more traditional country pursuits. He welcomes his son's marriage to Larita, whom he sees as a kindred spirit.

Prior to this one I had never seen any of Jessica Biel's films; I only knew her as a Hollywood beauty from the gossip columns. She is very good here as Larita, a spirited heroine who defends herself valiantly against her monstrous mother-in-law and brings a refreshing breath of fresh air into the closed world of the aristocracy. I did, however, think she was perhaps too young for the role. The script implies that Larita, a widow whose first husband died mysteriously, is considerably older than John, but Ben Barnes (better here than he was in "Prince Caspian") is actually a year older than Biel. The best performances, however, come from Colin Firth and Kristin Scott-Thomas as the ill-matched couple Jim and Veronica. Although they are the same age (both were born in 1960), Firth looks much younger than Scott-Thomas in this film, perhaps emphasising that Veronica's ideas are those of the past whereas Jim represents the future.

Despite some underlying serious themes, "Easy Virtue" is still a comedy, and the script is brilliantly funny. Most of the humour derives from the exchanges between the acid-tongued Veronica and Larita, who can give as good as she gets, and their constant war of one-upmanship. Asked to ride to hounds, Larita does so on a motorbike rather than a horse; there is a running joke about Veronica's attempts to exploit Larita's allergies by using flowers to make her sneeze. Veronica's annoying little dog comes to an unfortunate end. (Chihuahua-lovers should avoid this film and watch "Legally Blonde" instead). There is also some hilariously inappropriate use of music, including more recent songs like "Sex Bomb" performed in best 1920s style. This must be one of the best comedies (indeed, one of the best films) of 2008. 8/10

---

13 out of 22 people found the following review useful:
Unusual but rewarding, 14 November 2008

Author: Neil Welch from United Kingdom

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

A bit of an odd one, this. Based on an obscure Noel Coward play (and previously filmed by Hitchcock in 1928 as a silent drama), young John Whittaker arrives back at the family's stately home with his new wife in tow. When Mother finds out that Larita is American she is appalled, and begins to systematically undermine this very capable young lady. John's two sisters are inclined towards their mother's position, while Father (who, following his war experiences, is pretty disengaged from the family), likes Larita. What follows is a comedy of manners which develops into something rather more serious.

Jessica Biel plays Larita, and rather well, too. Kristen Scott Thomas is a politely venomous, and very funny, Mother. Colin Firth's Father is sad and serious (but with some great one liners) seeing what goes on, and perhaps being somewhat more interested than the impression he gives, but with a drastically different sense of priorities to the rest of his relatives. Ben (Prince Caspian) Barnes plays John as written, a pretty but callow young man. Kris Marshall gets most of the funniest bits of business as a perpetually acidic (and very 21st century) butler.

This film plays off the British class system and the institutionalised snobbery it embodies (especially in 1928), and may therefore not translate well in other countries. It is very funny in places, particularly in the first half, but ultimately it isn't really a comedy. Many - most, perhaps - of the main characters simply aren't very nice people.

As events proceed you begin to get a feeling for what you would like to happen, but you are only too aware that your preferred resolution would be a very modern way to finish the story off. As a result, the conclusion came as a surprise to me. If this was the way Coward's original play finished, then it would have been profoundly subversive in 1928.

There are a number of anachronisms sprinkled throughout the movie - some are, I suspect, accidental (the occasional very contemporary turn of phrase jars a bit) while others (Car Wash on the soundtrack in a 1920s style arrangement) are nice touches.

This film is a little bit off the wall, but I liked it a lot.

---

---

Page 1 of 5:

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Add another review

---

Related Links

Plot summary	Ratings	Awards
Newsgroup reviews	External reviews	Parents Guide
Official site	Plot keywords	Main details
Your user comments	Your vote history