Easy Virtue

Review By: Ryan Hamelin
RyanHamelin@TheCinemaSource.com

Movie Grade: B
DVD Features Grade: C-
Overall Grade: B-

For a British comedy in a period setting starring Colin Firth, Jessica Biel, and Ben Barnes of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian fame, Easy Virtue results in a decidedly average effort on all fronts. The movie feels like it was made several decades too late, and would have been a welcome successor to other thematically parallel works such as Sense and Sensibility or the BBC’s version of Pride and Prejudice. The hints of modernity throughout serve as a reminder of the world the filmmakers themselves are living in, and despite an almost perfect opening act, full of hilariously choreographed moments and a host of scenes which hit all the right notes, Easy Virtue just never manages to break the mold and stand out in any area beyond that of its release date. With this much talent waiting in the wings, anything other than wonderful filmmaking is a disappointment.

Colin Firth was clearly born in the wrong century. The man fits into his ancient British summerhouse without the smallest hint of discomfort, and as has become expected, delivers a wonderfully touching and layered performance that is equal parts comedic and dramatic. Kristen Scott Thomas steals most of the film as the strong-willed-woman-of-the-house, who, in true British fashion, must disapprove of her son’s marriage in order to drive both the comedy and the plot. She manages the austere moments better than the kindly ones, and you’re left wondering if she is quite as much of a piece of work in real life as the character she’s portraying. Jessica Biel could’ve simply acted as window-dressing in this one and on the page she has only a few moments of truly crackling dialogue. To her credit, she makes the part worth watching, and puts up a valiant fight with Kristen Scott Thomas in her attempts to win the loyalty of the extended family. All of this brings us to Ben Barnes who, until now, hasn’t really been given an opportunity to, like, act. He brings a lot of raw emotion to his role, and his youth allows him quite a bit more latitude in his puppy dog expression than one might expect. Based on his efforts here, I think that his Dorian Gray may end up being one to watch this fall.

The production design is typically spot-on, with the giant home adorned with artifacts from around the known world. The costume work is uniformly fabulous, as are the musical cues and sound work. On a technical level, the film is most impressive, even more so when you watch some of the unfinished deleted scenes and realize how much may or may not have actually even been there. If you can spot the green screen stuff while you watch the film, then you have a better eye than me. Production values on this scale were more than I was expecting going in, and I found the scope of the finished ...