The House of Mirth | | Cast : | Gillian Anderson, Dan Aykroyd | | Director : | Terence Davies | | Studio : | Columbia Tri-Star | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | January 01, 2000 | | DVD Released Date : | May 29, 2001 | | Language : | French (Subtitled), English (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | June 27, 2005 | | Summary | The House of Myth | Content
 | All of the positive reviews are creating a myth that this movie is any good. I really wish I could understand why so many people admire this film, but I easily understand why a small minority despises it. The acting is simply horrible. All of the main characters turn in bad performances, and I don't know if this is due to bad casting or bad directing. As movie adaptations are wont to do, parts of the original story were changed or abridged, and not to good effect in this case. Do yourself, and Edith Wharton, a favor, and read the book instead. |
| Rating | | | Date | March 31, 2005 | | Summary | The wrong thing at the right time | Content
| I am a huge Edith Wharton fan--she was our first "modern" novelist, though she lived in the Victorian/Edwardian era of pre-WWI New York. She was born to a New York social register wealthy family and wrote about their set with exquisite eye to manner, motives and misbehavior. Her own tragic marriage must have given her an especial feeling for the formalized marriage of the wealthy and the emotional degradation it could cause.
House of Mirth is about Lily Bart, a genteel but mostly penniless single woman of good family. Her aunt Grace supports her and it's widely believed will leave her considerable fortune to Lily. Meanwhile, friends urge Lily to marry, and marry WELL, meaning, to money. Lily, however, has one fatal flaw. She's unflinchingly honest. She also has the knack for making the wrong move for the right motives. The film is brilliant in how it catalogs the series of wrong moves and how they cascade to create the final conflicts that Lily must face.
Dan Ackroyd is adequate as Guy Trenor, the wealthy husband of a friend who seemingly wants to help Lily. Eric Stolz plays Lawrence Seldon perfectly> He's cold and though he claims to love her, plays her emotions like a fiddle. He scorns any attempt she makes to marry wealth but is disingenuous about his own devotion to honor. Gillian Anderson is perfect as Lily, very beautiful and somewhat innocent looking. Laura Linney is sweetly and perfectly poisonous as the uber-bitch Bertha, and the rest of the cast equally up to the mark. The scene where Bertha, with a single stroke, destroys Lily and leaves her in dire circumstances will have you reeling. The only thing I did not like about the film is that the scenes could have been linked more--there was a lot that could have been on the cutting room floor, perhaps discarded in favor of a lot of running in rainy streets and emoting. I thought the screenplay needed a touch more fleshing out. But on the whole, a great rendering of Wharton's admirable novel. |
| Rating | | | Date | December 14, 2004 | | Summary | Flawed but beautiful | Content
| There are several problems with this film. I think the main problem is that most of the actors look very uncomfortable. Their performances, with few exceptions, are stilted. The second problem is that Lily Bart, as the heroine, is not someone you are cheering for. She is not a fighter or a winner, she is a victim. Worse yet, she is a victim of the stupid choices she makes over and over again. She surrounds herself with people who are lecherous, two-faced, greedy, envious, etc., and then wonders why they betray and abandon her. And, of course, there is also an unhappy ending.
The costumes and sets are breathtaking. Every once in a while I like to watch this movie despite its flaws. Maybe it's because the film just looks so beautiful. |
| Rating | | | Date | December 03, 2004 | | Summary | Lush and Exquisite | Content
| I had never seen this movie before now and barely remember trailers for it. Which is a shame, really. This film is lush, and thoroughly tragic. Believe the acclaim you read about this film.
A world seemingly entirely different than our current one, this Turn of the Century New York is harsh and unforgiving, and demanding. Social facades are everything, and all critical eyes are hungry to spot any mistake anyone makes.
The drama unfolds marvellously and the predicament the strong-willed Lily Bart (Anderson) gets herself in begs the audience for pity and sympathy. Anyone who has had even the smallest amount of financial difficulties or has had any-sized financial hurdles to clear will empathise with Lily's situation. Money is so easy to spend, especially for those living beyond their means, like Lily, something necessary in this superficial time.
In a time when debts are looked down upon much more harshly than in our current times, Lily's fall from society's good opinion is especially cruel.
What's worse for the character is that her "friend" heartlessly sets up the final step that ostricises her from good society altogether. The hopeless romance between the one man she truly loves (Stoltz) is heart-breaking to witness, and her stubborn independence and determination to pave her own way and to clear her name is wincingly pathetic.
If Gillian Anderson's performance seems stiff in moments, it is a perfect portrayal of society's rigidity.
All actors are perfectly cast, most surprisingly Dan Aykroyd, who plays his cold investor role marvellously.
Grab your hanky and wallow in this opulent, heartrending drama. |
| Rating | | | Date | December 02, 2004 | | Summary | The saddest role played by Gillian Anderson. | Content
| The House of Mirth is the first time Gillian Anderson made me forget about Scully, because she was totally transformed in this tearjerker period piece. I had never imagine her in such a difficult role and she gave a multi-layered and powerful performance. With a superb supporting cast, she still managed to carried the film all the way to the end.
Anderson plays a high society single-lady in search of a healthy husband, because she grew up in proverty, and dued to her gambling addiction and bad investment with Dan Arkroy who scammed her money, she was going through bankruptcy. Her aunt rejected her, her friend(Laura Linney) walked away on her, and she rejected her only true suitor(Anthony Lapilliga). She ended up having to work in a factory, and got fired dued to her poor skill. The last person she could turn to was a man(Eric Stolce) who really loved her, but she didn't want to burden him.
She had reached the point of no return and her life was at a deadend, and she made her final choice.....
I was told by a friend of mine that the title of this movie is inappropriate, because there was no mirth in it. It's full of pain, sadness, and chaos. It must be an irony. Gillian Anderson sure made it more enjoyable to watch this depressing film. It's the ultimate anti-Xfiles performance she's ever done, and she deserved the best actress award that she won in Brittain! |
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