[.ca] Vanity Fair (2004) (Widescreen)

From Amazon.com:
The corsets and high waists of the 19th century meet the lush colors and visual splendor of India in Vanity Fair, a classic novel translated into modern celluloid by Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding). The very contemporary Reese Witherspoon (Legally Blonde, Election) at first seems to hit the wrong note as Becky Sharp, an orphaned girl who rises to the heights of society using her quick wits and feminine wiles. But as Vanity Fair unfolds, the movie's tone embraces both period decor and modern attitudes, searching for a bridge that will carry us more deeply into a different time. It isn't wholly successful--the movie's end wraps things up awkwardly--but some scenes achieve a surprising and vivid immediacy, in particular one in which Becky's gambler husband (elegant James Purefoy) catalogues his worth for her before going off to the Napoleonic battlefields; love and pragmatism fuse with heartbreaking results. --Bret Fetzer

The Unsinkable Becky Sharp:
As the story opens in London in 1802, we meet Becky Sharp, a poor but spirited little girl. She is soon orphaned and sent to be a servant in a posh girls' school. She acquires a good education and is determined to climb the social ladder, starting as a governess, then marrying a promising Army officer. She spends the next twenty years relentlessly pursuing her dream of being a lady. This movie is beautiful and lavish, everything that a good period piece should be. I haven't read the book, so I just enjoyed the movie on its own merits. Reese Witherspoon does a great job with the English accent and plays the Scarlet O'Hara-ish Becky with loads of charm and brains. She really is irresistible as well as formidable, and gives an Oscar-worthy performance. The costumes and sets are opulent, with lots of striking orange fabrics. There are plenty of ups and downs for Becky and the plot is never dull. I love period movies and this one had all the required triumphs and tragedies,romance and spectacle, to make it very satisfying.