Easy Virtue (2008)

Jessica Biel earns major respect here for taking on a very ambitious task. "Easy Virtue" marks the first time she headlines her own movie, acting alongside powerhouses like Kristin Scott Thomas and Colin Firth. It's based on a stage play by Noel Coward, which coincidentally was first produced in New York in 1925. Usually I hear the words "stage play from 1925" and I want to quickly build and jump into a time machine but the movie is not only painless but it's absolutely lovable at the same time.

Biel plays Larita, a young American widow in the 1920's making her living as a motorist. She's the first woman ever to win the Grand Prix in Monte Carlo, a feminist long before her time, which attracts the attention of Brit John Whittaker (Ben Barnes). It isn't long before the two are married and he's taking her home to his family's country manor. The matriarch of the house is Veronica Whittaker (Kristin Scott Thomas), an icey, uppity, bitter woman who never lived much of a life of her own and sees Larita as a gold digger and a whore before she even gets to the house. Larita can tell that her mother-in-law doesn't like her and tries very hard to adapt but only alienates herself further in the process. John's father (Colin Firth), a Colonel in World War 1, is the only one who cuts her any slack. He can't stand his family's stuffiness either and sees Larita as a kindred spirit. A battle of one-ups-man-ship soon takes over the house as Veronica desperately tries to get rid of Larita, who refuses to back down.

The point of the play was a counteraction to British smugness and director Stephan Elliott, who co-wrote the screenplay with Sheridan Jobbins, keeps that basic principle intact. In Larita, summer has found its unlikely hero, a woman who goes by the beat of her own drum, has a strong sense of self, and a backbone. Biel is dazzling in the lead role, contributing a strong will, good comic timing, and an uninhibited playfulness that makes her even sexier. When Larita tangos in front of the family, you can feel the "F You" that she's laying down. Kristin Scott Thomas is perfect as her uptight and scheming foil and Colin Firth is a pro at delivering witty quips as well as digging deeper to communicate the things that haunt the character, whether they be World War 1 or his own family.

The one-liners come fast and frequent. There are also some very wicked bigger laughs, most of which involve Larita's un-candid sexual nature. A panty-less can-can during a war widows revue is a howler. Another big laugh involving a dog will make animal lovers cringe for sure. "Easy Virtue" is a comedy that works, one of the funniest I've seen all year long. The costume design is very good and the manor looks like a nice enough place to spend 2 hours of your time. It's only when Elliott turns on the musical soundtrack, with tunes old enough to make Frank Sinatra look and sound like Eminem, that the movie really starts to show its age. But no matter. If you're looking for a smart comedy with some really excellent performances, "Easy Virtue" is truly virtuous.

Fmovies: 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.

John Whittaker (Barnes) is travelling and falls in love with beautiful American divorcée, Larita (Biel). After spontaneously getting married, John brings her back to his stately home in England, where although many warm to her, she is largely frowned upon – especially by his formidable mother, Veronica (Scott Thomas), who makes her stay as uncomfortable as possible. Based on the original play by Noel Coward, 'Easy Virtue' encompasses sharp wit, romance and drama; and although it is set in 1920s England, it is far from the typical period drama that might be expected. The soundtrack is slightly risky in places with its rearrangement of contemporary songs to period-music; but this can be overlooked for everything else the film has to offer. Firth supplies brilliant one-liners as the war-weary husband of Veronica. Biel has a captivating presence, bringing sexiness and classic Hollywood glamour to the screen; whilst Thomas, in total opposition, plays the stiff-upper-lipped English mother-in-law to perfection. A thoroughly enjoyable British comedy.

Easy Virtue fmovies. Brilliant, sparkling, joyful and sad, passionate and exciting, sweet and sour, elegant, refined and superbly ungraceful at the same time: contrasting adjectives are very fit for this captivating movie, which really hits the mark in a superb way. No flaw is to be found: the construction is solid and yet dynamic, highly-range acting is offered by the whole cast (but let me define Kristin Scott Thomas as sublime). The director creates a really enjoyable product, capable as it is of gaining the favour of the audience and to satisfy the viewer, both from an aesthetic and emotional point of view. The sound and authentic British humour stirring from the beginning to the end, makes one laugh but also think about the necessity to overcome a stuffy traditionalist attitude which make look back to a fossilized but no longer valid past,in order to let the new enter the scene, with all its dramatic potential of change. All certainties are questioned and prove to be dramatically frail. The conflict between the traditional English sobriety and self-control and the non-conformist American way of life gives rise to funny but also thoughtful moments of tension, subtly underlined by witty dialogues and emotionally engaging musical and dancing exchanges. A movie to be seen, heard, and enjoyed in every single part.

2008 has been a mixed bag thus far as far as character dramas are concerned, with the majority either lacking in any interesting personas and the remainder usually lacking in anything remotely fun about the experience. Thankfully, Easy Virtue takes residence amongst the minority of this year's examples, blending a wonderful ensemble of characters and respective performers with plenty of humour, romance and palpable charm. As a musical per se, which one could place the movie given the role that music plays in its narrative, the music is catchy, but always played in the background to what is going on with characters. So while the numbers certainly don't ever take off, the harmony created between the film's immediate interests always take precedence over the aesthetics, no matter how inviting and well done those elements are implemented. Sure enough, there isn't much in the way of flaws present within Easy Virtue's two hour runtime outside of the fact that it can sometimes drag on in terms of plotting. Nevertheless, despite small pacing problems, Easy Virtue is a wonderfully breezy, and yet hard hitting portrayal of relationships, both temporal and unconditional.

Where each of these sources of love comes from it seems is where the writers seem most interested in exploring; rather than sticking to the genre's more conventional set of rules, the movie instead takes a familiar, albeit refreshing route. Telling the story of Larita (Jessica Biel), an American race-car driver newly wed to love of her life John Whittaker (Ben Barnes) as she moves into her husband's inherited estate for the holidays, Easy Virtue take the romantic comedy and heats things up a little. The centrepiece of the story revolves around the idea that John's English aristocratic family either immediately resents Larita's presence or soon adheres to this mind-frame. This conflict draws most firmly from John's mother (Kristen Scott Thomas) who takes an especially vindictive and callous attitude towards her big-eyed, fresh faced and glamorously intimidating daughter in law.

This relationship, although not falling far from the genre's tree of ideas and structure, nevertheless does well to keep things grounded and believable. Very rarely are theatrics employed to establish the characters' obvious confliction, and as such both grow as the movie wears on, allowing not just drama to unfold from the proceedings, but comedy also. To say that Easy Virtue is a funny movie would be somewhat of an exaggeration; this isn't a comedy by any means, but it's not a straight forward drama or romance either. Instead director Stephen Elliot manages to do what so little directors of the genre actually succeed in implementing; a fine blend of all three ingredients whilst at the same time keeping characterisation consistent and engaging. Again these ingredients are most fully realised in the triangle of mother/son and the new girl in his life, with each ingredient sharing enough screen time to warrant interest; Easy Virtue isn't a funny movie noÂ… it's a funny, heart-warming and delightfully engrossing movie with plenty of intelligent drama and aesthetics.

Nevertheless, regardless of genre tagging, and the tricky balancing act involved in handling such a mix, the real potency of heart present that makes Easy Virtue such a joy to watch is simply through its characters and their relationships together. Mentioned above, the centrepiece of this endlessly amusing mix of character is the dynamic between Larita and

........................................................from Pasto,Colombia...Via: L.A. CA., CALI, Colombia and ORLANDO, FL

EASY VIRTUE is a clear example of the fact that making an outstanding film just isn't all that EASY! When was the last time a Noel Coward play was made into a movie, anyway? I could've looked it up, but I'll leave it to you, if you really think it's all that important! I'll wager the Producers, Director & Screenwriter didn't see most of the screen adaptations of his plays done in the 30's/40's on TV when they were kids, as I did. Seemed they were a bit out of their element...at times.

The end result: It's EASY to see the film was being pulled in several different directions, which was most apparent early on. In fact, EASY can be divided into 3 segments of roughly 30 minutes each.

Segment one really didn't seem to know where it was going. It suffered from poor pacing and a pervasive tension on the set that permeated several of the scenes. What had me close to quitting on EASY were the very awkwardly inserted bits of slapstick, obviously an attempt at comic relief, but which seemed utterly contrived and out of sync with most every other aspect of the film.

Segment two was a definite improvement. Toned down considerably were the scenes involving slapstick. Only a few brief moments, which were much better integrated into the work. The culture-clash, the true razon d'être of EASY, between Jessica Biel's(Cellular) character, Larita, an independent and free- spirited American race-car driver of sorts, and the lady of the manor, Mrs. Whittaker (Kristin Scott Thomas/The English Patient), who turns out to be one lady with an extremely controlling and manipulative manner, is handled much more smoothly in the second segment, and, as a consequence, these scenes are much more amusing, even occasionally funny!

The closing segment really had me in its grip. The ensemble cast really shone. Finally, we see evidence of why so many of Noel Coward's plays were made into movies. All the outstanding elements; costumes, sets and music among others, really contributed to a very fulfilling final ½ hour! Colin Firth deserves a mention, perhaps EASY's best performance. Had the entire film been at segment three's level, 8*--EASY! However, I feel 6* is a fair overall rating

.....ENJOY/DISFRUTELA!

Any comments, questions or observations, in English or Español, are most welcome!