Easy Virtue - An Immoral Wife

Noel Coward (1899 - 1973) was among the most important dramatists of his generation. A writer who also enjoyed success as an actor and composer, he particularly delighted audiences with his intelligent wordplay, which her used in lighter comedies as well as dramas and thrillers.

"Easy Virtue", one of Coward's lesser-known plays, was directed as a silent film back in the 1920s by none other than Alfred Hitchcock. Now the Australian Stephan Elliott has taken on the material again and, unlike Hitchcock, has placed its comedic aspects in the foreground. The result is a wonderful good-mood film, which with its sharp-tongued dialogues does justice to the theatrical original and at the same time presents a very own variant of the material.

The story takes place at the end of the 1920s on a noble family estate in England. It is here that young John Whittaker (Ben Barnes), head over heels in love, returns with his newlywed wife Larita (Jessica Biel) after an extended stay abroad. His mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) can't really get on board with her son's choice, as her new daughter-in-law is American of all things. While Larita makes every effort to become a part of the Whittaker family, those efforts don't work in the slightest with the lady of the house. When Larita realizes that she will have to fight harder here to avoid losing her husband to his mother, a duel of a very special kind begins.

"Easy Virtue - An Immoral Wife" was shot entirely on picturesque locations in England. However, even though the sets, costumes, and the Whittaker family's lavish country estate take the viewer right back to the late 1920s, the film never feels dusty or antiquated. The film manages the balancing act between the past and the modern in a very entertaining way, which can also be seen in the music. Thus some well-known hits of recent date, as for example "Sex Bomb" of Tom Jones or "When the going gets tough" of Billy Ocean sound in the garb of the hits of the 1920s and 30s. Added to this is an equally modern, or rather timeless, wordplay that makes Stephan Elliott's adaptation of the play a real treat even for those viewers who otherwise tend to have a hard time with epochal films.

The fact that the actors were enthusiastic about the script is also evident in the film. Kristin Scott Thomas in particular is on top form as the bossy mother-in-law. Jessica Biel can't quite keep up, but still manages to give her character enough wit and strength to believably stand up to her nemesis as Larita. Ben Barnes and Colin Firth, recently seen together in "The Picture of Dorian Gray", play more supporting roles, but they do so with such obvious joy in acting that they are a delight to watch.

"Easy Virtue - An Immoral Wife" is a wonderfully light, enjoyable film that keeps viewers thoroughly entertained for just under 100 minutes and leaves them with a big grin on their face. Although much of the wonderful wordplay is lost in the German dubbing, even in this slightly weaker version, the lively family comedy is still absolutely worth watching!!!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp