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5.6/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.6/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Vanity Fair remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you like watching classic Hollywood stars finding their footing, then absolutely. If you need your period dramas to be stuffy and perfectly paced, you’ll probably find this a bit too frantic.
It’s not exactly a faithful adaptation of the book, but who cares? Myrna Loy is clearly having a good time, and that energy carries the whole thing over the finish line. She plays Becky Sharp like she’s constantly winking at the audience while everyone else is busy being serious.
The movie moves fast. Like, really fast. It skips over so much character development that you’d think the reel was cutting out in the middle of scenes. There’s a scene where she’s barely out of school and suddenly she’s married to a guy I barely remembered seeing. It’s wild.
Some of the supporting cast feel like they wandered off the set of The Little Variety Star. They’re fine, but they don't quite hit the same notes as Loy. She is the sun here, and everyone else is just kind of orbiting around her, waiting for instructions.
It reminded me a bit of the frantic energy in Sharp Shooters, just with more lace and fewer guns. It’s uneven, for sure. Sometimes the dialogue hits, and other times it lands like a wet blanket. Still, it’s refreshing to see someone actually try to make Thackeray feel like a Saturday night popcorn flick. It’s messy, but it’s alive. 🎬
