By CAROLINE BODKIN Special to the Daily Press
In the latest reincarnation of William Makepeace Thackeray’s opus, “Vanity Fair,” Reese Witherspoon stars as Becky Sharp, one of the most cunning female heroines in English literary history. It’s early 19th Century London and Becky, the orphaned child of a starving artist and a Parisian opera girl, desperately wants to marry into high society and will utilize all of her considerable charms to do so. While users and social climbers aren’t often likable characters, Witherspoon’s Becky simply can’t be despised. She is only crafty because she believes she needs to be, which makes her soulful and complicated enough to be lovable.
Director Mira Nair, who recently gave us the critically acclaimed “Monsoon Wedding,” was born in India, so she knows first-hand what it means to live in a class system. What’s certainly evident is sympathy for the myriad of emotions that motivate a character like Becky.
The episodic story takes off when Becky earns a position as a governess to the Crawleys, a well-bred clan she succeeds in charming before capturing the heart of dashing Rawdon Crawley (James Purefoy), youngest son and heir to the family fortune. Becky and Rawdon marry in secrecy, and are subsequently cast out by the Crawleys, who see it as an unfit union. Soon after, when Napoleon invades Europe, Rawdon leaves pregnant Becky to fight, then returns to hard times after the war. Becky sees a way out of hardship and back into high society in rich admirer Marquess of Steyne (Gabriel Byrne). In entertaining his pursuit she would finally get what she’s craved for so long, but at a price she cannot imagine. (MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some sensuality/partial nudity and a brief violent image. Running time: 137 minutes)
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 3, 2004. Read the original PDF.