Easy Virtue (2008)

Easy Virtue is a 2008 British romantic comedy film based on Noël Coward's play of the same name. The play was previously made into the silent movie Easy Virtue (1928) by Alfred Hitchcock. This adaptation is directed by Stephan Elliott, written by Elliott and Sheridan Jobbins, and stars Jessica Biel, Ben Barnes, Colin Firth and Kristin Scott Thomas. The score contains many Coward and jazz-age songs, some of which are sung or partially sung by the cast.

Easy Virtue is a social comedy in which a glamorous American widow, Larita, impetuously marries a young Englishman, John Whittaker, in the South of France. When they return to England to meet his parents, his mother takes an immediate and strong dislike to the new daughter-in-law, while his father, Jim, finds a kindred spirit. Family tensions escalate.

The film was screened at the Toronto Film Festival and London Film Festival prior to its 7 November release by Pathé in the UK. Subsequently, the film was also screened at the Rio International Film Festival, Middle East International Film Festival in Abu Dhabi, and the Rome Film Festival. It closed the Adelaide Film Festival prior to the Australian theatrical release on 12 March 2009. In May 2009 it was released in the US.

In the United States, the film enjoyed some commercial success. Sony Pictures Classics paid an estimated $US1 million to acquire the film's distribution rights in the United States, Latin America and South Africa. The film went on to gross $US2.5 million in limited theatrical release in the United States.



^ Easy Virtue BBFC Quote: Run Time 96m 48s

^
^ "A hugely enjoyable version of Noël Coward's twenties culture clash". The Times BFI London Film Festival. Retrieved 28 October 2008.

^ "Festival do Rio - Easy Virtue" (in Portuguese). Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival. Retrieved 17 May 2009.

^ "Middle East International Film Festival - Abu Dhabi 2008 - Easy Virtue". Middle East International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 11 October 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2013.

^ Aloisi, Silvia (29 October 2008). "Easy Virtue tops favorites at Rome film fest". Thomson Reuters. Retrieved 17 May 2009.

^ "Easy Virtue perfect choice for closing Adelaide festival". The Age (Melbourne). 3 March 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2009.

^ Holden, Stephen (22 May 2009). "Marry in Haste, Repent at Decaying Castle With Possessive Mater". The New York Times.

Synopsis

Larita (Jessica Biel), a glamorous American widow and successful racecar driver, meets young John Whittaker (Ben Barnes) in Monaco. They marry, and he takes his bride home to meet his family at their dauntingly large rural mansion, where seven generations of Whittakers have been gentleman farmers. There she meets her icy cold mother-in-law, Veronica (Kristin Scott Thomas) and disheveled, sad-eyed father-in-law, Major Jim Whittaker (Colin Firth).

Actors