Becky Sharp: Technicolor chaos and the girl who wanted it all

Is it worth your time?

If you have a thing for film history, yes, put this on. It’s the first feature-length three-strip Technicolor film, which is a big deal if you care about how movies actually look. If you just want a tight, well-paced drama, you might want to skip it. This isn't exactly Vanity Fair, and it feels like it knows it.

Miriam Hopkins is clearly having the time of her life here. She plays Becky with this manic energy that feels like she's vibrating off the screen. Sometimes it works, sometimes she looks like she's about to break the lens with her eyes.

The colors are… something.

Everything is bright. Like, aggressively bright. The red coats on the soldiers during the Waterloo sequences look like they were dipped in neon paint. It’s jarring if you’re used to the muted, moody stuff from the 30s. Honestly, I think the movie is so obsessed with the color process that it forgets to tell a story half the time.

There’s a scene where the panic hits during the battle, and the sheer amount of yellow and blue on screen is almost nauseating. It’s fascinating, but it’s not exactly subtle. The crowd scenes have that weird, stagey feeling where you can tell exactly where the studio floor ends.

• The ballroom scene is a total trip.
• Becky’s dresses are loud enough to scream.
• The dialogue feels like it was written for a theater back row, not a camera.

I found myself zoning out during the bits involving the secondary characters. Nigel Bruce is there, doing his usual Nigel Bruce thing, which is fine, but he doesn't really add much to the chaos. It’s really just the Miriam Hopkins show from start to finish.

It’s weird to think people back then saw this and thought it was the future. It feels more like a prototype that’s still leaking oil. Still, I’d take this over some of the bland, washed-out stuff you see on streaming services today. At least it tries to be vibrant, even if it trips over its own feet.

One weird moment: a reaction shot of a character looking at a map lingers for about ten seconds too long. It’s just silent. Why? I have no idea. Maybe the projectionist just stopped for a coffee.

It’s definitely not a perfect movie, but it’s a weird one. Watch it for the colors. Don't watch it for the plot, which is thinner than the paper it was printed on.