Customer Reviews
Art Deco Cliche - Dull Young Things - By: Ms. Nicolette Lamb, 26 May 2008 
Am I the only person that found this film to be a complete disappointment? I read & enjoyed the book & thought the film sounded interesting; am sorry to have found it "fun"in a meaningless kind of way but utterly lackingin substance & plot. This film tried too hard & was frankly hard work watching since there was no emotion to balance out the purile cliches & hollow characters. This left a sour taste, particularly the final & pointless reference to World War 2 which again failed to achieve its goalin putting the frivolous Bright Young Thing's lifestylein juxtoposition to the horros & tragedy of war. The only tragedy is that Stephen Fry was involvedin such a terrible production. Far more enjoyable is Brideshead Revisited if one is into such things.
Brilliant! - By: A. Worthington, 08 Aug 2007 
Like a cross between "Cabaret" & "Moulin Rouge" this film just blew me away. I'm embarassed to say that I just saw it, & see now that it was madein 2003. It makes me wonder how many other great films I've been missing. The settings & acting are first rate & I honestly can't find a flawin this movie. The story is setin 1930s London, before the war, & we get a look at the divine decadance that was glimpsedin "Cabaret," only the plot is more thrown about & there are some fetching scenes involving Number 10 Downing Street--the funniest part of the movie--well, not for anyone living at 10 Downing Street. At any rate, the plot centers on getting the money, losing the money--required to marry a certain girl. the twists & turns this movie takes on are just mind boggling & the editing is quirky & keeps you on your toes. Honestly, I was so disappointed by "Moulin Rouge" & this is what it should have been more like. It's like a Merchant Ivory film on drugs--this is a compliment. At any rate, the story is not only entertaining, but touching & well crafted. I just can't recommend this movie enough.
Nicely done satire, and well acted - By: C. O. DeRiemer, 03 Aug 2007 
This is a stylish, satirical & thoughtful movie about people not worth thinking too much about. We'rein Londonin the Thirties. The wealthy, bored young spawn of the upper crust flit from party to party, keeping the dawn at bay & amusing each other with their brittleness & wit. We'rein the middle of high society, "that uneasy alliance of bright young things & old survivors."
Adam Fenwick-Symes (Stephen Campbell Moore) wants to be a writer, hasn't a penny, but whose friends are all among the "things." He loves Nina Blount (Emily Mortimer), a young woman who would rather be bored & rich than bored & poor. (She finally marries a very boring, aristocratic young man, Ginger Littlejohn, who is rich. "Oh, darling," she says to Adam, "if only you were as rich as Ginger...or even half as rich.")
Throughout the movie Adam finds himselfin situations where he comes close to money & loses it, whether it's gamblingin a hotel which has wonderfully loose morals to working as Mr. Chatterbox, a gossip columnist for a press lord. His friends are fun & stylish, but also shallow, condescending & oblivious to any feelings except their own. "You bloody people," one person finally says to them, "Who the bloody hell do you think you are?" As the Thirties pass into the 1939 invasion of Poland & Britain's declaration war, the parties stop. Bad things happen & real life takes over. But eventually Adam & Nina find their way together, without money.
I liked this movie a lot. It has great style & dialogue, & things keep moving. It was based on Evelyn Waugh's Vile Bodies. The characters are superficial but after a while you get to know them. There are first-rate actors portraying these bright young things, including Michael Sheen as Miles, a wealthy young queen, & Fenella Woolgar as Agatha Runciple, a young woman without a reflective thoughtin her head. There are also wonderful performances by some well-known namesin smaller parts: Jim Broadbent as an alcoholic colonel who shows up several times, Jim Carter as a filth-hating customs supervisor, Peter O'Toole as somewhat balmy aristocrat who isn't as eccentric as he appears, Simon Callow as the deposed king of Anatolia, & John Millsin a brief but funny bit as an old aristocrat at a party who mistakes a sniff of cocaine for a sniff of snuff.
The DVD picture & audio are first-rate.
Suprisingly Watchable - By: D. Saxton, 17 Apr 2006 Initially we rented this film as it was directed by Stephen Fry, whom both my partner & I enjoy, & having kept it for several days waiting for the mood to be right, watched it to be pleasantly suprised by it's relatvely light 'watch-ability'.
The plot is very easy to follow, though has one or two dead-ends. The casting is faultless & general atmosphere very much of it's time.
If you want a light Sunday afternoon film, this isn't it, but if you want a film to make you think, laugh & relax any other time this may well be for you. Not too heavy going, but not a "Carry On.." either. Try it... you might like it!
Very good visually - By: P. Smith, 16 Feb 2006 
Stephen Fry, the director of this film, has many talents, not least as a comedian & wit &in my view he has made a thoroughly good job of this film. It has a sparkle & pace to it & some wonderful performances from a young & enthusiastic group of actors. (Particularly good is Fenella Woolgar as Agatha Runcible but everyone is at least goodin his/her role.) All that having been said I think Stephen could have chosen a better novel to adapt for his first film as director. "Vile Bodies", the novel on which it based, is a fizzy but rather empty read & even if you adapt it very well, as he has, the best you can probably hope for is a fizzy, empty film & that's more or less what you get. No fault can be attached to the direction, acting or the set design. (The sets, by the way, are sumptuous, exquisitely designed & wholly convincing). In conclusion 5 stars for effort & visual appeal but possibly three for the overall film.
