In "Easy Virtue", Noel Coward created a thoroughly modern story about passion and hypocrisy. Stephan Elliott's beautiful new film starring Jessica Biel, Ben Barnes, Colin Firth and Kristin Scott Thomas picks up those themes in a complex, moving and at times hilarious movie. Produced by Barnaby Thompson for Ealing Studios, and co-written with Sheridan Jobbins, "Easy Virtue" elicits discussion long after the last image has flickered away.
The Memorial Weekend box office figures are among the most prized in the Film Making calendar. "Easy Virtue" has come in #3 behind "Terminator Salvation", and "Night at the Museum II"!
Of course, that ranking is for the 'per screen average', but it's impressive, none the less. 'Terminator' and 'Museum' are have budgets into the 100's of millions of dollars with platform releases going out on 3,500 and 4,000 screens respectively. "Easy Virtue", on the other hand is a modestly budgeted British film in limited release in New York and Los Angeles. That means it's punching well above its weight on a tiny 10 screens - yep. one, zero - and still the little British film came 24th over all - according to Box Office Mojo
The Hollywood Reporter was quick to point out the success of the film:" Among the latest limited bows, Sony Pictures Classics' romantic comedy "Easy Virtue" -- starring Colin Firth and Jessica Biel -- unspooled in 10 theaters and grossed $146,140. That represented an impressive $14,614 per venue."
And The Huffington Post was also impressed: "While Ben Stiller and the Terminator battled it out in Hollywood (with Ben Stiller the surprise champion), Indiewood’s Memorial Day weekend had a clear box office winner in Stephan Elliott’s “Easy Virtue.” According to estimates, the Noel Coward adaptation grossed a classy $146,140 on 10 screens. Released by Sony Pictures Classics, “Virtue” - which stars Ben Barnes, Jessica Biel and Kristen Scott Thomas - averaged $14,614 over the four-day weekend, easily the highest among all specialty releases."
The prestigious Broadcast Film Critics Association which is culled from the most senior reviewers around the United States is currently rating "Easy Virtue" at a high of 77. This is a culmination of terrific reviews which began back in Toronto with high praise from the three major industry magazines: Variety, Screen Daily and The Hollywood Reporter.
With the release of the film over the Memorial Weekend (May 22nd, 2009) in Los Angeles and New York, other great critics have waded in in support of the film.
In the L.A. Times, Betsey Sharkey writes that "There are probably no better hands to entrust virtue o any sort to than those of writer-director Stephan Elliott... [He has] created a wonderfully rich battle for propriety in "Easy Virtue." The humor might sting, but the pain is worth the pleasure."
In USA Today, senior reviewer Claudia Puig says "Easy Virtue goes down as light a fizzily as a flute of Champagne tossed back in an airy drawing room."
Ella Taylor at The Village Voice described it as "deliciously cheeky" with a "uniformly great cast."
Rex Reed at in the The Observer writes, "The stifling repression endemic to the British class system is so impeccably preserved that it connects with modern audiences, and young people allergic to period pieces are likely to embrace the message about the need to break from the shackles of the past and open a window to a brave new future." ... "Easy Virtue is romantic, clever and artfully crafted. All told, a sparkling, classy and ultimately satisfying experience."
Also New York Times critic Stephen Holden made it the pick of the week with four out of five stars. "The film uses ingenious visual symbols - curved oval mirrors and stuffed animals - to suggest the Whittakers' warped Victorian values and the deadness of a culture Larita finds unendurable"
Perhaps best of all for a film which is designed to attract a younger audience as well as the traditional demographic for period drama - Rolling Stone Magazines' reviewer, Peter Travers in his pithy review sums up with: "Stephan Elliott uncorks a rare vintage of laughs tinged with heartache."
Hot on the heels of the Tribeca Film Festival in New York - The 10th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival closed last Thursday night with two films tying for the audience award for best feature: "Easy Virtue," (which screened on April 26); and "Street Dreams,"(April 25) were both deemed by the record crowds to be the most popular films of the festival.
Rachel Josue from MTV saw "Easy Virtue" at a press screening as part of the Tribeca Film Festival - "The Verdict: Excellent. I loved it.
Set in the 1930’s in rural England, the film centers around Larita (Jessica Biel), a mature American woman who has just married John Whittaker (Ben Barnes), a young Englishman. The newlyweds travel to his family’s farming estate so Larita can meet his family. Her mother in-law Mrs. Whittaker (Kristin Scott Thomas) tries to undermine her at every turn, but Larita doesn’t go down so easily. The way the story of Larita unfolds keeps the audience in its toes. The dialogue is witty and the story funny. "
"Easy Virtue" is screening tonight at the Tribeca Film Festival. New York Magazine listed the film as one of the "must see" movies of the festival. This is what they had to say:
"How do you update Noel Coward's fizzy 1924 masterpiece of class conflict for the 21st century? You don't. Elliott's lovely take on Coward's female American race-car driver marrying into an upper crust British family is terrifically acted by colin Firth, Kristin Scott Thomas, and (surprise!) Jessica Biel." -B.E.
There’s a lot of opinion about what Noel Coward, may, or may not have thought about the latest film version of his play, “Easy Virtue”, but if it’s any guide - the Noel Coward Society approves.
This is the review they have posted on their website: “Elliott has struggled to find a rhythm to his career in the afterglow of his biggest success The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert (1994). Easy Virtue is his most satisfying effort since that landmark production and finds him at ease with a world of cutting wordplay and class conflict. He embraces the lush theatricality of Coward's sensibility, but without toppling into the kind of camp archness that might grate with a contemporary audience. He also employs a cast that has the comic timing and dramatic abilities to make the most of the subtleties in Coward's writing.
You expect Kristin Scott Thomas and Colin Firth to be completely at home in this universe, but the revelation is Jessica Biel who handles the literate dialogue with aplomb. She plays Larita, a daredevil American sensation of the European race track who follows a whirlwind romance with naive Englishman John (Ben Barnes) by marrying him and then facing the daunting prospect of meeting his parents. Frosty mother Veronica (Kristin Scott Thomas) does everything she can to make her feel unwelcome and a state of war is declared. Laritta discovers all the poisonous emotions that flow within the family whilst Veronica and the daughters uncover all the dirty secrets from Larita's past that might convince John that this is not a marriage made in heaven.
Coward was the master of the well-constructed, impeccably witty play that eventually reveals some home truths about the emotional repression of the English middle-classes and the stifling repression endemic to the British class system. All of those elements are present in this adaptation. There are still lines of such wit and savagery that they easily connect with a modern audience and the message about the need to break from from the shackles of the past and embrace the possibilities of a new, uncertain future is timeless.
The ubiquitous Colin Firth has some telling moments as Mrs Whittaker's bored husband and grumpy paterfamilias Jim, Kris Marshall milks all the deadpan comedy in family retainer Thurber and Kristin Scott Thomas has just the right edge of manic malice to make Veronica a formidable opponent.
Who knows what value the Noel Coward brand has for a modern audience, but this is enjoyable and accessible enough to provide a substantial specialist hit.”
"Easy Virtue" continues to screen on all of its cinemas as it enters it 6th week in Australia. Excellent reviews, tremendous box office and great word of mouth have all buoyed the films cache as is now prepares to open in France (on May 6th), the US (May 22nd) and New Zealand (May 28th). [Advertisement from SMH, Saturday 11th April, 2009]
Prior to those release dates, there will advance festival screenings in the US. The Tribeca Film Festival - has invited 'Easy Virtue' to be a part of their 'Spotlight' section. It will have it's first American screening at 6pm on the 28th of April, (BMCC cinema) and again at 4.15pm the next day (at AV7-07) and 9.30pm on Friday the first of May (AV7-04).
Tribeca Film Festival: Program Notes say: "Based on the Noel Coward play, Easy Virtue is reworked and revitalized in Stephan Elliott's (The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert) triumphant adaptation. Class-conscious Brits the Whittakers meet their son's (Ben Barnes) gorgeous and scandalous bride, Larita (Jessica Biel) with hesitation and subsequent disgust. She is a wily American race car driver with all the flair of a young Dietrich, but her carefree and liberal attitude does not go over well with the in-laws' old-world values and stuffy traditions. Larita's biggest naysayer is Mrs. Whittaker, wickedly played by Kristin Scott Thomas. Her husband (Colin Firth) is the offbeat recluse of the bunch, who adds wonderful comedic relief in tense moments. As the mother-in-law and new world daughter duke it out in hilarious fashion over the course of the couple's stay, we can't help but cheer on the shake-up.
"Elliott sticks to the heart of the Coward play by digging into the hypocrisy of priggish aristocrats refusing to roll with the times, and he and fellow screenwriter Sheridan Jobbins inject each scene with delightfully witty dialogue. Easy Virtue mesmerizes and tickles with great performances and good old-fashioned laughs. A Sony Pictures Classics presentation. --written by Genna Terranova"
Their review of the film says: "The director of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert returns after a nine-year absence with this randy update of the classic Noel Coward Jazz-Age play, giving it a jaunty 21st-century swing while retaining all its original barbs and charms. It’s the mid-1920s in stuffy old England, and the snobbish family of wealthy trophy-boy John Whittaker wouldn’t mind if time stood still forever. Imagine their consternation, then, when John brings home impromptu new bride Larita (Jessica Biel), who’s not only a modern woman with modern charms (and legs), but is also a successful auto racer (gasp!) and an American (even bigger gasp!). While John’s lackadaisical father (Colin Firth, perpetually perched between slumber and scruff) doesn’t seem to mind Larita’s presence, his overbearing mother (an icily regal Kristin Scott Thomas) certainly does, and soon a battle of wits and wills rattles through the family’s crumbling estate, as two strong women—one of the past, the other of the present—battle for the future. Director Stephan Elliot infuses the play’s already toxic social commentary with some unexpectedly modern fashions and pop hits (“Sex Bomb,” “Carwash,” etc.), but his wisest decision is to just let his cast loose on Coward’s notoriously cutting dialogue. All barbed-wire niceties and ice-water kisses, Thomas embodies a social scion of a very certain class, while Firth counters her chill with a dishevelled warmth all his own. It’s Jessica Biel, however, who delivers the truly astonishing performance, her bohemian beauty polished by a spirited, razor-sharp wit."
Mornings with Kerrie Ann Kennerley had this to say about "Easy Virtue". In some respects - it speaks for itself. In others:"It's the most enjoyable film I've seen in the last six months" and "...sometimes you just want to walk out of the cinema with a big smile on your face - and that's why this film worked for me."
Andrew Mercado ****1/2 stars!
On the other hand - this is also about the wider review. The Australian public voted "Easy Virtue" their per screen number one:The upshot being: "Elliott’s Easy Virtue topped the limited release charts".
The most senior Australian Film Critics, Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton of At The Movies have both given 'Easy Virtue' the thumbs up. "The surprise of the film is how well Jessica Biel matches her stalwart British co-stars. She’s beautiful and, more importantly, she’s talented. She is delicious. It’s potentially a creaky old yarn but Elliott, working with screenwriter Sheridan Jobbins, has imbued the film with an energy and a beauty that is beguiling." says Margaret.
In a typically curmudgeonly exchange, David admitted it's one of the few films which has made him laugh out loud in recent times.
DAVID: Once or twice I laughed out loud, and I don't do that very often these days in the cinema.
MARGARET: Oh, you old sourpuss.
Margaret Pomeranz **** David Stratton *** 1/2
At The Age newspaper, Phillipa Hawker opens her review by writing: "Easy Virtue is an unexpected pleasure, a deftly presented comedy of manners that takes a few turns into sharper satirical and emotional territory. Essentially, however, its intention is to amuse: it is a sure-footed, entertaining period piece, a revamp of a Noel Coward play from the '20s that never takes itself too seriously, yet never treats its source material with contempt."
Philipa Hawker *** 1/2
Sandra Hall, the senior reviewer for The Sydney Morning Herald summed up her glowing review by concluding: "honesty finally trumps hypocrisy and the pacey ending sends you out on a high."
Sandra Hall *** 1/2
Richard Wilkinson *** 1/2 "This is an absolute joy. Lovingly shot and beautifully directed. Easy Virtue! Fabulous darlings.
Over at Urban Cinefile Andrew Urban summarised his opinion of Easy Virtue: "The often outrageous Steph Elliott is a surprising choice to make a Noel Coward adaptation, and a surprise it is for us too, in the best possible way. Elliott injects two special ingredients: a naughty sense of edgy fun ..and a splendid soundtrack" and Louise Keller said, "With a delicious zest for life and a casual disdain for the upper middle class, Stephan Elliott's happy return to directing is piquant joy."
I was unable to find an on-line link to Rob Lowing's review in the Sun-Herald, so I'll write it out in full here. It was on Page 15 of the "S" entertainment section, in the Sun-Herald on March 15
"It is a bit of a shock to realise this immaculately produced and cast, and very British-feeling, drawing-room comedy is directed and co-scripted by Australian Stephan Elliott, he of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert fame.
While the tone is still occasionally saucy, this 1920s-set clash of cultures is reined in by the conventions of its source material: The play by Noel Coward. (This was previously made into a tougher-edged 1928 movie by Alfred Hitchcock, who was in a typically more death-obsessed mood.)
Elliott's approach is softer but not necessarily woollier, thanks to star Firth in a rare sombre role and Scott Thomas who, since extracting ecstatic reviews for her I've loved You So Long and pretty much saving this week's Confessions Of A Shopaholic, can do no wrong.
The story is tailor-made for those who want escapism but can't tolerate the stale, dumb jokes of most modern Hollywood comedies.
Easy Virtue delivers memorable, arch banter among well-bred British, intercut with romantic angst and a dead body or two (here, a mistakenly dispatched pet dog, a possibly murdered husband and an absent fiance.)
Scott Thomas is perfect as the outraged and cash-strapped mother who discovers that her young son (Chronicles Of Narnia: rince Caspian heart-throb Barnes) has married a shady, older and penniless American rather than the well-to-do lass she had earmarked for him.
The shady lady is played by Biel, who is slightly strident and too young but better than expected.
Mum gets no support from her jaundiced and distracted husband (Firth), who has never recovered from the horrors of WW1. Lending a hand - or not - are the daughters of the house and a perky butler (Love Actually charmer Kris Marshall).
Combating the artificiality is director Elliott's smart decision to set key scenes outdoors or by windows that frame the gorgeous countryside, the historic houses are also drool-worthy.
Elliott is noted for his soundtracks and Easy Virtue is a corker, with traditionally presented Coward tunes as well as jazz-baby versions of Sex Bomb and more.
Julie Rigg at ABC National conducted an extensive interview with director Stephan Elliott and co-writer Sheridan Jobbins. In the 'e-mail' section, she sums up the film by saying: "The most surprising entertainment of the week - a remake of Noel Coward's 1924 play Easy Virtue. It's delightful entertainment - and it's directed, of all people, by Stephan Elliott. What?"
Fiona Sewell, reviewing 'Easy Virtue' for ABC Radio said: "It's no Priscilla but there are plenty of drama queens! There's also lots of witty dialogue, good performances and sumptuous costumes. This is good fun, with some serious moments thrown in. The soundtrack is terrific, with plenty of Noel Coward and Cole Porter, and a wonderful version of Sex Bomb."
Giles Hardie at the Sydney Morning Herald's on-line website said that "With a combination of Noel Coward's witty one-liners; great performances from a terrific ensemble; and inspired directing by Australian Stephan Elliott - this is a thoroughly enjoyable comedic and fun film. What's more - with genuine conflict between strong characters in a lavish setting there is both humour and drama to spare."
'Easy Virtue' was the closing night film at The Adelaide Film Festival. In reviewing the festival, several journalists also swept 'Easy Virtue' into their net of praise:
Michael Body writing for The Australian: "It's an adaptation of Noel Coward's Easy Virtue, that has Elliott back in the main game. It's a breezy and well-received film starring Kristin Scott-Thomas and the unlikely Jessica Biel."
Andrew Fenton at The Adelaide Advertiser: "Elliott's adaptation retains some of the tone and themes from the original play but it's considerably lighter and funnier, with a triumphant ending that transforms quite a dark scene into an audience pleasing, feel-good moment. "
And The Age's Paul Kalina wrote in a lengthy summary: "The star-studded Noel Coward adaptation Easy Virtue was the perfect choice for closing the festival on Sunday night. For starters, it brought the house down at its two concurrent, capacity screenings. Secondly, it is co-written and directed by Stephan Elliott, one of Australian cinema's most successful talents, despite not having even worked here for 12 years since Welcome to Woop-Woop.
Elliott, who adapted the Coward play with Sheridan Jobbins, takes a screwball approach to the material, a raucous period-set comedy in which the son (played by Ben Barnes) of a fading aristocratic family brings his new wife home to meet the mostly mortified family. She is, after all, older than him, a racing-car driver, an American and a divorcee whose name has appeared in the scandal sheets.
Kristin Scott Thomas, Jessica Biel and Colin Firth are pitch perfect in their respective roles, while the script deftly draws out the stinging attacks on upper-class values and marital codes. If anything, Elliott's perspectives as an outsider serve him well here. It's blisteringly funny at times, even when it resorts to a semi-slapstick routine involving an unfortunate Chihuahua."
In the absence of any of the film's stars (normally a lightning rod for attracting attention to a film) the Australian press turned to director Stephan Elliott. He appeared on numerous TV and radio shows being interviewed by Kerrie Ann Kennerly, Jono & Dano, and Deborah Cameron all keen to discuss the skiing accident which effectively removed ten years from his working life.
In January, 2004, Stephan skied off piste in Courchevel, France. He struck a rock at speed and snapped his pelvis, crushed three lower vertebrae and dislocated his hip. Before he could be moved from the mountain, the weather deteriorated to the point that the rescue helicopter was unable to reach him. Instead he was ferried down by skiers, and later placed on a fire engine. At the bottom of the mountain, the fire engine was met by an ambulance supposedly bringing blood to the haemmorhaging Elliott - only in haste, the medial bag had been dispatched without anything in it. He was given 20 minutes to live, and lost consciousness believing he would die.
Instead he awoke to find himself in Albertville Hospital. He was subsequently air lifted to Britain, where surgeons were able to reconnect his pelvis using a radical new technique and 11 titanium plates. In a remarkable display of courage, he learned to walk again in record time - and 8 months later was back skiing in the Australian Alps.
During the 3 years it took him to regain full use of his legs he wrote the 'book' for the stage play of 'The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert' and the script for 'Easy Virtue'.
Here is the story as told to David Richardson on 'Today Tonight':
There is also a digital sections of The Sydney Morning Herald, which posted this excellent interview with Elliott and Giles Hardie about the making of the film:
Newspapers picked up the story - many of the journalists including pocket reviews of 'Easy Virtue' into their articles:
In the national paper 'The Australian" Greg Callaghan described 'Easy Virtue' as, "a handsomely rendered take on the Noël Coward play of the same name, about an English aristocratic household in the ’20s, starring Jessica Biel, Colin Firth and Kristin Scott Thomas, to be released on March 12. Say what? A period film for the former enfant terrible of the Australian film industry? “Yeah, but a period film with a rocket up its arse, as someone described it,” laughs the 44-year-old, who grew up in Sydney and wanted to become a director from the age of eight."
There was also an excellent and comprehensive article by Marion Hume, in the Weekend Magazine for The Australian (28th of February, 2009) and a very handsome photograph in the Sunday Magazine - neither of which have I been able to find on line. If you're able to send me a copy via the comments section - I'd be most grateful.
In Melbourne, The Age film reviewer Phillipa Hawker said: "The movie has a strong cast. Kristin Scott Thomas is the formidable, icy lady of the manor; Colin Firth her husband who returns from the harrowing experience of World War I with little enthusiasm for his role as master of the house; and Ben Barnes (Prince Caspian) their dashing, love-struck son. Jessica Biel - Justin Timberlake's girlfriend and a paparazzi magnet who was in The Illusionist and TV's 7th Heaven - plays Larita, a woman out of place. A glamorous young American who drives a racing car and embraces new art and literature, she is shunned by the family she has married into, and hemmed in by English country life.
After the screening of the film to the closing night audience of The Adelaide Film Festival, Andrew Fenton wrote in The Adelaide Advertiser: "The original play was an attack on Victorian repression and hypocrisy masquerading as moral virtue, and Elliott's version also parodies the stuffy English aristocrats for being hopelessly out of touch and rejecting the encroaching modernity that Larita represents. Such an interpretation, though, could be accused of making a fun movie seem a lot more ponderous than it really is. For it may be set in 1920s England, but Easy Virtue isn't filled with stuffed shirts and stiff acting. Instead, it's full of zinging one liners and period-appropriate versions of modern songs like Car Wash and When the Going Gets Tough."
While at the Sydney Morning Herald, Elissa Blake reported, "Elliott says period films have always "bored the hell out of him" so he livened things up by turning the original melodrama into a fast-paced comedy with an updated soundtrack. The songs include a 1920s version of Car Wash and Tom Jones's Sex Bomb, co-produced by Elliott and record producer Marius de Vries. "We wanted to make it a modern film for young audiences," he says. "When we first screened it in [Britain], the younger crowd lit up like Christmas trees when the music kicked in.
Some reviews are so intelligently considered they fulfill a second purpose as acting as a trailer and synopsis. This is such a review. It's by far the best I've found so far for "Easy Virtue"...
Sister Blogger and brother WordPress I salute you - out there tapping away in the electronic Morse Code of naughts and ones. Publishing, publishing, publishing.
Here are a select few of the serious cinefile bloggers:
Andrew UrbaN: "Like Oscar Wilde, Coward used wit to prick the balloons of pomp and hypocrisy. But behind the wit lies seriousness of purpose: the crushing of personal identity for the sake of conformity. This is an eternal and universal theme - but if we can have fun unravel it, all the better."
Louise Keller: "With a delicious zest for life and a casual disdain for the upper middle class, Stephan Elliott's happy return to directing is piquant joy."
Cinematical wrote: "I don't know what attracted [Stephan Elliott] to this project, but I'm glad that something did. The material may seem almost purely verbal, all clever turns of phrase and sardonic interjections (what Americans think of as "Britishness"), but Elliott is constantly concerned with how the movie looks and sounds. Fittingly, he manages to give it a curious, otherworldly feel."
Harry Knowles : "It's been a while since I've laughed this loudly in a movie ... I can bestow upon it the only real sign of success: it's a film for people who wouldn't normally see such a film. Now see it."
Helen O' Hara: "It's to everyone's credit that this loose, screwball adaptation of a Coward melodrama works as well as it does, and emerges as something strange but fresh."
Thomas Caldwell "This is an excellent adaptation of Coward’s play and Elliott’s skills as a director are beautifully on display." ***1/2
John Bale: "Elliott has succeeded in his cheeky upgrading of the Coward play without going into high camp like Priscilla. I’m sure many younger people not familiar with Noel Coward’s work will enjoy this sparkling night’s entertainment."
Neal Anthony: "An iconoclastic re-imagining of Noel Coward’s Easy Virtue - a period film for those who don’t like period films."
Flower.Ink"It's really a funny movie worth watching."
User comments have also been providing some one-on-one review action. Over at imdb.com we have this little gem from gerrystakes: "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."
A Comedy of Manors "Set in the late 20's early 30's it's what happens when a beautiful bride with a past marries into a family with no future. Jessica Biel and Ben Barnes are the star crossed lovers... Kristin Scott-Thomas and Colin Firth are the stars that they cross... The casting is brilliant, the acting superb, and the story - (based on a Noel Coward play) is sharp, funny and at times (go figure this) heart breaking. Add to that direction from the maverick and iconic Australian Stephan Elliott (Priscilla Queen of the Desert) and you also get great music, witty coverage and some of the funniest moments I've had in a film which is thoroughly suitable for a family aged 13 plus. Seriously - how long is it since you've seen a film which stays with you - with an ending you can talk about afterwards?"
There are also a couple of fan sites which have been enthusiastic in their reception for their chosen star:
"Easy Virtue" premiered in Italy at the Rome Film Festival under the title "UN MATRIMONIO all'inglese". There were several reviews during the festival from Reuters - in particular this one, which said; "ROME (Reuters Life!) - "Easy Virtue," a bubbly comedy based on Noel Coward's play about English high society in the 1920s, has emerged as a hot favorite to win the best film award at the Rome festival, which winds up on Friday.
Italian daily Corriere della Sera called the film, a British production directed by Australian Stephan Elliott, "a little gem" and gave it 3-1/2 stars out of four -- its highest marks for a movie screening in the main 20-title competition.
La Repubblica newspaper also tipped the film as a winner for its witty dialogues, praising actress Jessica Biel's performance as a glamorous and free-spirited American woman storming into the lives on an old-fashioned English aristocratic family."
It opened wide to rave reviews - the most spectacular of which was in La Repubblica on the 9th of January 2009. Now, my Italian is not nearly good enough to translate - so you'll have to take my word on this: It's very, very good.
NELLE SALE / Dopo il successo al Festival di Roma, arriva la commedia "Un matrimonio all'inglese": protagonista, una Biel più scatenata che mai... Jessica la sexy emigra in Inghilterra tra gag, humor e risate intelligenti
di CLAUDIA MORGOGLIONE
UN MATRIMONIO all'inglese è una bella cura cinematografica contro il malumore, la depressione, le brutte notizie che arrivano dal mondo. Perché è brillante, divertente, ricco di gag, di intelligenza, di humor, di personaggi irresistibilmente simpatici. A partire dalla protagonista, Larita, oggetto del desiderio di tutti i maschi del film e causa di scompiglio in un sonnacchioso villaggio inglese a causa del suo matrimonio con un nobile rampollo del luogo. E a incarnarla, in tutto il suo sex appeal, è la diva americana Jessica Biel. Che qui, forse per la prima volta, mostra di essere non solo bella, ma anche brava.
Ambientato all'inizio dei ruggenti anni Trenta, in una campagna britannica immobile eppure affascinante, il film - diretto da Stephan Elliot, noto soprattutto per il cult Priscilla la regina del deserto - prende le mosse proprio dal ritorno a casa del giovane e ingenuo John Whittaker (Ben Barnes) nella residenza di famiglia. In cui imperversa la sua insopportabile madre (Kristin Scott Thomas), mentre il padre (Colin Firth) sembra relegato a un ruolo marginale. Il problema è che il giovane non si presenta da solo, ma con una moglie nuova di zecca: Larita, appunto. Misteriosa ragazza americana, reduce da una gara automobolistica, anticonformista e insofferente alle regole. Tutte caratteristiche che la fanno odiare dal primo istante dalla suocera, che scatena contro di lei una guerra senza esclusione di colpi. E dalle conseguenze imprevedibili.
Una vicenda raccontata con un senso dell'umorismo, del dialogo intelligente e ironico, come raramente si vede al cinema. E che, del resto, ha origini nobili: il film è tratto infatti da una piéce giovanile del commediografo inglese Noel Coward. Già trasposta sullo schermo, in gioventù, da Alfred Hitchcock. Ma il regista ha negato che la sua opera, malgrado la sua accuratissima ambientazione d'epoca, possa essere considerata in qualche modo datata: "Non volevo girare una pellicola in costume - ha dichiarato - ma un film moderno, per un pubblico moderno". Un risultato raggiunto, almeno a giudicare dagli applausi ricevuti durante l'ultimo Festival di Roma.
Quanto alla Biel, si tratta di una interpretazione a tutto tondo, che la lancia alla grande come attrice. E lei ne è consapevole: "Come interprete ho trovato molto eccitante il personaggio di Larita - ha detto - perché la capivo. Anche se io nella realtà sono più dolce: proprio per questo, è stata una bella sfida".
"Easy Virtue" has an impressive musical pedigree. The orchestrated score has been composed by Marius de Vries. He has worked on several film scores - notably "Romeo & Juliet", "Moulin Rouge" and "Eye of the Beholder". He is, however more famous as a record producer whose enormous body of work includes producing albums for Bjork, Annie Lennox, Josh Groban, Massive Attack and Madonna's "Ray of Light". With that in mind it's no wonder that the album for the film "Easy Virtue" is fresh, intelligent and anarchic.
In an interview published in The Age newspaper DeVries says: "I've never approached movie music in a traditional way," DeVries says. "The conventional process of underscoring a script is something that a lot of people do better than I, and I have no wish to compete with them. It only really makes sense for me to get involved in movies where there is something a little bit different going on."
sanity.com have reviewed the album saying: "The sparkling and swinging Easy Virtue soundtrack includes 17 tracks taken from the film, all of which have been re-recorded. It features popular hits from the 20s and 30s such as "When You're Smiling" and "Let's Misbehave" as well as modern day tracks such as "Car Wash", "Sex Bomb" and "When the Going gets Tough" (which have been made to sound like they are from the same era). There are several new compositions written by Marius de Vries including a dramatic Tango.
Marius de Vries has assembled a fantastic team of musicians for the album including Dave Rowntree (the drummer from Blur), Mike Smith (keyboard and sax player for the Gorillaz and The Good Bad and The Queen), Chris Storr (Trumpeter for Jools Holland), violin player Sophie Solomon from Oi Va Voi, and internationally renowned pianist, Jim Watson.
Pop sugar single out the music for special attention "The wonderful composer Marius de Vries cheekily mixes authentic songs from the period with contemporary tunes given a Cole Porter-esque arrangement (this version of "Sex Bomb" has to be heard to be believed!) It's an interesting device, as is the use of the cast's own singing voices (Jessica is surprisingly good.)
Sky movies gave the album, and the film, a four star review saying "Music supremo Marius De Vries puts 20s-style tweaks on contemporary classics - Car Wash, Sex Bomb, Billy Ocean’s When the Going Gets Tough - to accompany more time-honoured ditties by Coward and Cole Porter, it’s a refreshingly crisp and accessible affair. Easy on both eye and ear, this jaunty little number has many virtues to commend it."
The sound track and album were co-produced by the film's director Stephan Elliott. In an interview in The Sydney Morning Herald, he is quoted as say that period films have always "bored the hell out of him" so he livened things up by turning the original melodrama into a fast-paced comedy with an updated soundtrack."When we first screened it in [Britain], the younger crowd lit up like Christmas trees when the music kicked in."
One of the most startling features of the film is the amount - and quality - of singing by the leading actors. The title track - "Mad About the Boy" is sung by Justin Timberlake's girlfriend Jessica Biel, revealing for the first time on film the breadth and appeal of her beautiful smoky singing voice.
The video of her singing live in the studio as seen here on YouTube, also serves as a love letter for fans of Ben Barnes.
It's possible that only his fans are aware that Ben Barnes had a fully fledged (if short lived) career as a pop singer in the band Hyrise. They were second place runners up in the UK pre-selection for The Eurovision Song Contest in 2004 losing out to James Fox who went on to achieve 16th place. In "Easy Virtue" Barnes sings on several numbers - both in the context of the film and as a part of the soundtrack. Perhaps the most outstanding is Noel Coward's "A Room With A View".
The sound track has been released through the Decca label and is available for on-line purchase at Amazon and play.com among others.
Although this is not strictly a 'review' it is interesting to note that Graham and Tolly who are making a bit of a name for themselves as "Addictive TV" have chosen to create a 'mash up' of the film. For the fuddy duddies out there, a mash up is where a DJ takes two tunes and 'mashes' them into a brand new song. Addictive TV take that idea one step further by cutting the image and soundtrack from movies to suit their new 're-mixed' rhythms. Before they did it for "Slumdog Millionaires" they produced this one for "Easy Virtue."
The current incarnation of "Easy Virtue", adapted from the original Noel Coward play, and starring Jessica Biel, Colin Firth, Kristin Scott Thomas and Ben Barnes, opened in Britain on November 7th, 2008.
Helen O'Hara at Empire, the major cinema magazine in Britain, summed up the film by saying that it had "a welcome sense of whimsy often missing in the costume genre."
Over at Channel 4, James Mottram opens his review by saying, "Coward's dark tale of an uptight family of British aristocrats - written when he was just 23 - is far removed from the wit-soaked comedies the elegant playwright became known for. Thus, Elliott plays fast and loose with the original, ironically turning it into something far more Coward-like along the way."
While the Daily Mail effused: "Like a vintage bottle of champers, Noel Coward’s deliciously funny comedy of manners has lost none of its sparkle in the 80-odd years since it was written. Fizzing with droll humour, pithy observations on the class system and some brilliantly acidic one-liners, it’s wall-to-wall wit on a grand scale."
There were numerous television reviews which incorporated interviews with their incisive and highly positive assessments of the film.
ITV 4 had this to say:
GMTV also gave the film a rave review, with this additional plug for the soundtrack
"Easy Virtue" has screened in numerous international festivals. Each time it does, the festival provides an independent review of the film to be printed in their programme.
The film first screened in front of a commercial audience when it premiered in Canada at the Toronto International Film Festival The festival's director, Cameron Bailey, summed up his feelings about the film by saying, "Crafty direction, snappy dialogue and a delightful cast take this comedy of manners far beyond the confines of the typical romantic comedy. What results is a film that is as clever and hilarious as it is artfully crafted"
Several weeks later, "Easy Virtue" was invited to the second Middle Eastern International Film Festival held in Abu Dhabi, and a few days later the cast and crew walked the red carpet of the London Film Festival. Although the weather was gloomy, the response to the film was warm: "Things move along at a sparkling pace, and there's an idiosyncratic and very welcome touch in the musical choices, mixing up period gems and recent pop. Noel Coward and Prince? Elliott makes it feel like a match made in heaven."
The reception at the Rome Film Festival was tumultuous with Reuters predicting that: "Easy Virtue," a bubbly comedy based on Noel Coward's play about English high society in the 1920s, has emerged as a hot favorite to win the best film award at the Rome festival, which winds up on Friday." Although the film failed to take that prize, it was rewarded with seven weeks in the Italian Top 10 Box Office.
Most recently, on March 1st, 2009, "Easy Virtue" was invited to close the Adelaide Film Festival. In their programme, they described the film's director Stephan Elliott as "a director who appreciates the theatrical possibilities of cultural clashes and he’s back to his sparkling best in this delicious confection."
The film, "Easy Virtue", directed by Australian Stephan Elliott, had its first public screening in the Elgin Theatre at the Toronto International Film Festival on the 7th of September, 2008. It was met with a standing ovation by the 1,500 people in the audience and the next day received excellent reviews in all the trade papers.
The Hollywood Reporter described it as: "An old Noel Coward play rediscovered and refurbished in a splendid production from Stephan Elliott."
Variety, that old doyen of the entertainment industry, felt that "A fine cast makes sure Noel Coward's champagne remains bubbly in "Easy Virtue," an effervescent entertainment that marks a welcome return for "Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" director Stephan Elliott after a nine-year absence."
While relative newcomer, Screen Daily, lavished it with praise: "Handsome production values, a class-act cast and nimble direction from Elliott all combine to make the most of the material, transforming it into a surprisingly elegant, entertaining period piece."
The Memorial Weekend box office figures are among the most prized in the Film Making calendar. "Easy Virtue" has come in #3 behind "Terminator Salvation", and "Night at the Museum II"!
There’s a lot of opinion about what Noel Coward, may, or may not have thought about the latest film version of his play, “Easy Virtue”, but if it’s any guide -
