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Vanity Fair
2004
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$ 19 Million
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Vanity Fair
Positive Reviews
36
Negative reviews
10
Average Rating
3.3
/5
romantic
elegant
serious
enjoyable
entertaining
All
Positive
Negative
1.5
Thackeray crafted Vanity Fair as a cynical study in contrasts: Virtue gets punished while vice gets rewarded.
Av Club
4.0
While Amelias family loses its fortune, Becky hustles andplots relentlessly.
Screen Daily
5.0
I had thought her a mere social climber.I see now shes a mountaineer.
Rogerebert
5.0
Under the direction of Mira Nair, Witherspoon and Ifans give Oscar worthy performances in an Oscar friendly film.
Cinema Blend
4.0
Reese Witherspoon is convincing as the full speed ahead Becky Sharp.
Spirituality And Practice
2.2
The film failed in every which way possible rendering it a bourgeois romantic melodrama fit for a middle brow Masterpiece Theatre type of audience, wh ..
Sover
2.5
When William Makepeace Thackeray created Becky Sharp, the scheming, thoroughly amoral antiheroine of his savage, 1848 satirical masterpiece, Vanity Fa ..
Tv Guide
3.1
Could she possibly inject some color into the dull, dull costume epic, I wondered
Combust Ible Celluloid
3.5
I like the modern take on the story.Director Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding) even manages to sneak a colorful Indian scene into the movie.
Lariat
2.0
Costumes and cinematography are sumptuous, but Thackerays elegant wit gives way to something bawdier and less subtle.
News Review
2.5
Witherspoon carries the film with a striking combination of gleeful intelligence, voracious sex appeal and deeply hidden emotion.
Shadows On The Wall
2.5
Nor does the screenplay find a real equivalent for Thackerays sublimely sardonic prose.
Cs Monitor
2.5
Unkind to say, but Witherspoon simply lacks the gravitas and grandeur essential to portray a heroine of such hi lit pedigree.
Film Journal
4.0
Yes, Nairs film bites off more than it can chew, but it brings a lot of style and a plethora of great performances, even if some are extraneous to its ..
Mountain X
3.8
Their car veered off the road into the water.Family and friends who stood vigil prepared to gather again to bury the women.
Star Tribune
2.5
The challenge of any adaptation is knowing what to leave in and what to leave out.
Emanuellevy
3.5
What is impossible to overlook, however, is the movies misrepresentation of the original engrossing tale, as well. Cutting down was the major challeng ..
Reel Talk Reviews
3.1
The Little Stranger The Little Stranger, Lenny Abrahamsons follow up to his widely acclaimed drama Room, could very well have been titled Rooms, as th ..
Q Network
3.2
But when her hilarious performance becomes its own Maggie Smith ish sideshow, there is, surely, something amiss.
Ew
3.5
If you have an older Salon account, please enter your username and password below: No problem!.Just sign in with Facebook or Google to get started.
Salon
2.0
Its always touching when liberal, antiracist, feminist artists take it upon themselves to rescue incorrect classics from the prejudices of the authors ..
Slate
2.0
A serious misfire, as the saccharine heroine and dazzling Indian influences sideline the satire in this adaptation of Thackerays classic.
Empire
3.0
Witherspoon is, as ever, utterly delectable and so filled with spirit, fun, and charm that it is impossible not to root for her.
Common Sense Media
3.8
Like Hopkins, Witherspoon is American and Southern, little, smart and loquacious, with a smile thats engaging without being entirely reassuring.
Sf Gate
3.5
There is no depth beneath its bright surfaces, no potent emotional undercurrents.
Time
2.5
The consequence of such narrative imbalance is that the film becomes an awkwardand slightly unfaithfulperiod piece about one pretty womans uplifting e ..
Slant Magazine
5.0
But heres Mira Nairs fine movie version of the 1848 book, in all its glory and scope and wit.It goes everywhere, it sees everything in Regency England ..
Washington Post
3.5
Still Witherspoon cant help making her heroine far more likable than Thackerays ever was.
Washington Post
2.0
Once Ms. Atkins fades from the movie, it never fully recovers.At the same time, Vanity Fair toys half heartedly with billowy romantic drama, and its t ..
The New York Times
2.5
Without a vibrant visual sense or subjective identity to call their own, they more often than not resemble a dry BBC production of Masterpiece Theater ..
The Movie Boy
2.8
While the film looks gorgeous and Reese Witherspoon is quite fetching as the gold digging Becky, the film demands too many abrupt about faces for char ..
Reeling Reviews
4.5
Vanity Fair (review) William Makespeace Thackerays beloved novel gets another filmic adaptation, and if the sprawling lushness of its epic length is l ..
Flickfilosopher
3.5
Whether it will get any attention come Oscar time, Vanity Fair is accomplished entertainment in its own right.
Las Vegas Weekly
3.8
If theres a reason to see the movie, its Redford, whose charismatic, mature presence argues that age has done nothing to diminish his ability to comma ..
ReelViews
1.9
To top it off Napoleon invades Europe sending Rawdon off to war.But wait theres more.
Hollywood
3.5
.Becky, born to a Parisian opera girl and a poverty stricken artist, has an insatiable ambition that propels her through snooty British society up to, ..
Seattle Pi
3.5
Although at 137 minutes the film is far too long, it did hold my interest, and qualifies as a pretty good, albeit unchallenging, entertainment.Septemb ..
Tony Medley
2.2
This lack of attention to social context, coupled with Beckys breezy demeanor, bleeds the story of its would be dramatic weight and leaves behind some ..
Coles Mithey
4.0
But the character does age emotionally, thanks to Witherspoons carefully layered performance.
Cnn
3.1
Its refreshing to see a genuine anti heroine emerge from this kind of epic chamber drama, but the actress lacks the charm and heart that let the audie ..
Spliced Wire
3.0
Martin Regg Cohn: Thanks to Doug Ford, the skys the limit for marijuana in Ontario For better or worse, the purchasing and public use of cannabis has ..
The Star
2.5
After all, its got a terrific cast and what seems to be sure fire material.
Deseret News
1.0
Nor does the pretentious silliness of the party charades that occasioned that ruthless climbers first appearance as Clytemnestra; they have been repla ..
La Weekly
3.8
Lush costumes and beautiful sets recreate the time period in great detail.Your eyes never get bored while watching and an Oscar nomination for Best Co ..
Three Movie Buffs
2.5
Kansas City, Kan., native and pop star Janelle Monae came to the Starlight Theater for her first headlining show in five years, giving an astounding p ..
Kansas City
4.4
Will Vanity Fair be as much of a disaster for Reese Witherspoon.Youll be surprised at how good it is.
Waffle Movies
2.5
Most frustrating is how, after endlessly meandering for more than two hours, it rushes and clumsily ties everything up in a spectacularly unconvincing ..
Montreal Film Journal
3.5
But to do so means declawing Thackeray and draining some of the tales nasty fun.
News Week
3.0
You will be able to save yourself from getting disappointed of watching nothing but a lame movie.
Window To The Movies
2.8
This redemptive revisionism might be easier to swallow if the films drama held together on its own terms, but it doesnt really.
Decent Films
2.5
None hurt in shooting at shopping center None hurt in shooting at shopping center Authorities are investigating a possible shooting after a report of ..
Freep
2.0
Hollywood blunts Thackerays Sharp edge.Theres something wonderfully delicious about a large budget Hollywood production of Vanity Fairthe 19th century ..
National Review
3.0
Vanity Fair is an enjoyable enough film but its not a patch on the book!
Future Movies
3.8
Reese Witherspoon as Becky Sharp pulls off a tale of romance and adventure in the 19th century.
Entertainment Spectrum
2.5
Witherspoon is the only thing that kept me watching Vanity Fair even as my eyelids morphed into anvils.
Fantastic A Daily
3.8
Its 800 plus pages, crammed with description, reflection and enough plot to sink a less skillfully steered ship, present a daunting challenge for feat ..
Seattle Times
2.5
Witherspoons technically irreproachable but rather cool performance does not shed light where the script is deficient.
About Film
4.5
Vanity Fair is the most anti romantic of nineteenth century novels, and its famously anti romantic heroine is the real thing.
Ny Books
4.0
If you are looking for the most seductive love quote, you will find it here.
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Vanity Fair