Vanity Fair
Short description
Based on William Makepeace Thackeray's novel, Vanity Fair follows Becky Sharp, the orphaned daughter of a poor English painter and a French singer, who leaves Miss Pinkerton's academy determined to rise above her origins. Using her intelligence and charm, she makes her way into early nineteenth-century London society alongside her friend Amelia Sedley, navigating the resistance of a class-conscious world and a long stretch of turbulent years that include marriage and the Napoleonic wars. Directed by Mira Nair, the film was released in 2004 and stands as the sixth entry in her filmography, arriving between Monsoon Wedding and The Namesake. Julian Fellowes wrote the screenplay with Matthew Faulk and Mark Skeet, and Reese Witherspoon leads a cast of 71 credited performers as Becky, joined by Eileen Atkins, Jim Broadbent, Gabriel Byrne, Romola Garai and Bob Hoskins. Produced by Donna Gigliotti, Janette Day and Lydia Dean Pilcher for Focus Features, Tempesta Films, Inside Track and Granada Productions, the film carries a budget of 23 million dollars and a worldwide gross of about 16 million, indicating it did not recoup its costs theatrically. On TMDB it holds 5.8 out of 10 from 365 votes, and its film critics' rating is also 5.8 from 168 reviews, so critics and audiences broadly agreed in their assessment.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film is based on William Makepeace Thackeray's novel "Vanity Fair" (Vanity Fair: A Novel without a Hero, 1847-1848).
- Filming of the picture began on May 23, 2003, in the pavilions of Shepperton Studios in London with a budget of $23 million. Initially, work on the film was scheduled to begin in the fall of 2002, but was postponed for several months due to Reese Witherspoon's commitment to filming "Legally Blonde 2".
- The first four adaptations of the novel on which the film is based passed very quietly, then in 1932 there was a film with Myrna Loy, and the last one was released in 1935 under the title "Becky Sharp" starring Miriam Hopkins. There have also been three mini-series, the most recent of which aired on BBC in 1998.
- During rehearsals for the film, Mira Nair jokingly suggested that Reese Witherspoon get pregnant, as the actress's thinness did not quite fit the role. Coincidence or not, but by the time filming began, Reese announced that she was expecting a child.
- Reese Witherspoon was the only American actress on set, which was entirely located in the United Kingdom.
- Notably, Natasha Little, who played Lady Jane in this film, also participated in the 1998 BBC production. There she played the main role, the role of Becky Sharp.
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