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
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
