Easy Virtue

Easy Virtue is a 2007 film by Stephan Elliott (the director of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert). It stars Jessica Biel, Kristin Scott Thomas, Colin Firth and Ben Barnes. I'd never heard of it until I saw it when I was browsing the videos on Thursday; when I saw that it was an adaptation of a Noel Coward play I thought I'd be likely to enjoy it.

And I really did enjoy it very much, although in some ways it was not what I expected.

I thought that Kristin Scott-Thomas would act beautifully, and so she did. In fact, I thought I could bank on the certainty that her performance would be excellent and I was not disappointed. I had thought that Jessica Biel might be good, and I thought she was very good. Colin Firth was wonderful: his part didn't have much dialogue but what there was, was choice. His acting was beautiful, and gave the film some gravity I think, without which, it could not have succeeded.

I was surprised by the ending but it was immensely gratifying.

The film was beautifully photographed and the costumes were wonderful. They were beautifully designed; I found myself mesmerized by the very contemporary but very "art moderne" motif in the fabric of the cloche that Jessica Biel wore in one scene. I could scarcely pay attention to the dialogue.

I'd strongly recommend the commentary by the director and his co-writer Sheridan Jobbins (who has a beautiful speaking voice). They're Australians, and I'm still bewildered by all their slang, but variety is, after all, the spice of life. At the end of the commentary, Jobbins says to Elliott, her co-writer, that it's a beautiful film and I think it is. I marvel at the alchemy that permitted some very talented people to put together a jewel box of a film with the slenderest of means.

Not knowing much about the technology with which films are made I found the director's discussion of the work of the sound men fascinating as they labored to remove the sound of a hovering helicopter or to insert the sound of a grandfather clock.

Finally, the music. Very surprising and very excellent.

And yes, there's something for you here if you also loved There's Something About Mary.