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29 October 2008

Review by Dena Blakeman 

Dir Stephan Elliott

BASED ON a Noel Coward play in the 1920s, the film directed by Australian enfant terrible Stephan Elliott (The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert) gives the witty comedy a brand new feel to it and is a great case in point between the neurosis of the aristocrats and the bohemians alike.

With its typically British, dry humour, the film is a welcome recognition that despite being based on a play written almost a century ago, (in its hyper-literate and wordy manner) the impeccably constructed old comedy is still as relevant today, in a world of haves and have nots.

With one of the most haunting openings to a film I've seen for an age, the story revolves around a perfectly glamorous American, Larita (Jessica Biel) who escapes to France to rebuild her life after a scandalous divorce.  With her vanity in tow, she soon enough meets and marries a young, wealthy Englishman John Whittaker (Ben Barnes), who falls head over heals in love with her.

But their blissful honeymoon soon turns sour when they arrive at his family's manor and Larita is introduced to John's well-to-do parents, Veronica and Jim. Played to perfection by Kirsten Scott Thomas, Veronica is displayed in her distinctly 'British' aristocratic manner at all times; polite, yet overtly protective of her main heir's interests and pursuits, whilst her bored and largely ignored, sarcastic, upper class twit of a husband is perfectly played out by the rather typecast talent of late, Colin Firth, (who admittedly has also very recently shown us some pretty amazing comic virtues). As for the unflappable and comical butler played by Kris Marshall, the film can't help but raise a wry smile from even the most solemn and sober audiences.

Veronica sniffs around her heir's newly acquired wife and before long finds out about Larita's secret.  As her 'easy virtues' and dark past are quickly revealed to John, the story from here plays out the battles between Veronica, Larita and John's two unmarried sisters Hilda (Kimberley Nixon) and Marion (Katherine Parkinson).

The film was first made in 1928 by Alfred Hitchcock and with the play’s highly literate, yet distinctively atmospheric plot of a woman with a shadowy past, easy virtues and guilty pleasures, one can see why the Catholic master of film was drawn to it in the first place.

Yet, whilst the story seems a strange choice at first for the more flamboyant and laid back Elliott, (whose films have favoured the more bizarre and obscure), the manner in which he makes the film distinctly his is exemplified right at the beginning. In the opening sequence itself, Elliott showcases his singular way of making a film his very own by using curious film angles, choppy black and white footage and a distinctively jazzy soundtrack, the latter which he successful marries to an eclectic collection of musical choices, including some pop music. The result is a welcome recognition that a treasured old comedy like this one can still be resonant today.

A return to fine form for the director and a superb showcase for its cast. Elliott's immensely entertaining version of Coward's play has all its tired and old dust wiped off its structure, with a contemporary, fresh and brash approach, giving any viewer ample opportunities to laugh out loud and enjoy the sardonic and delightful classic.

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