Review of House of Mirth, The

Introduction

The House of Mirth is based on the book by Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Edith Wharton. Although set in early century New York, this film is a modern British affair, partially funded through Lottery money, shot in Glasgow, distributed on DVD by Film Four and helmed by British director Terence Davies.

The British crew is complimented by a largely American cast, including Dan Aykroyd, Eric Stoltz, Laura Linney and Anthony LaPaglia. Gillian Anderson, taking a break from The X-Files, is cast in the lead role as socialite Lily Bart who, in accordance with the rules of the aristocracy, is obliged to seek a rich husband. However, Lily always seems torn between what she wants to do, and what she is expected to do by her peers.

Video

The 2.35 anamorphic picture is absolutely stunning! Colours are the perfect tone for a period film – good contrast, but not too bright – and the image is clean and sharp. Black levels are handled well, and the numerous atmospheric smoke effects are flawless.

Audio

The 5.1 mix is also an extremely good effort, which produces the spatial effects and clear dialogue whilst never overpowering the delicate mood of the film.

Features

FilmFour/VCI have including a superb range of extras to go with the movie. First up is the director’s commentary by Terence Davies. He is very enthusiastic about his film, and often goes into detail about the shooting, the editing and other such anecdotes. This commentary is informative, although Davies only seems to be prompted by a start of a scene, and so is a bit quiet. But even though he leaves long silences in his commentary, as a whole this is one of the better ones I have listened to. Another audio track – ‘audio description’ – is available. This is the first time I’ve seen this kind of extra. Basically it’s the dialogue, but with a narrator describing the on-screen action. This is a great bonus for the visually impaired, but I found that it was also great to listen to whilst watching, and plays very much like a book read aloud.

Also on the disc is a short featurette that tells us a little more about the making of the movie. Sadly it’s only 7 minutes long, but at least it’s not a Hollywood fluff piece. The ‘On Location’ extra is just a reel of spare video that someone managed to take on set – those of you familiar with FilmFour discs will know that this is not a particularly useful extra as it is mostly without sound, but is at least here for completion’s sake.

The deleted scenes are available with or without commentary. In fact, they are more ‘extended’ than ‘deleted’. The cast and crew interviews are also like on other FilmFour discs – these are short sound bites that I would have preferred shown as the entire interview, rather than chaptered questions. However, they run for 26 minutes and, apart from their presentation, cannot be faulted. Gillian Anderson’s acceptance speech (recorded, not live) for Best Actress at the British Independent Film Awards is here also. And of course there is the theatrical trailer.

Conclusion

The House of Mirth is a stunning piece of cinema, and must rank among the greatest literary adaptations ever. The story, following Lily Bart through the choices she makes and the consequences they have in a world of social politics, seem just as relevant today as nearly 100 years’ ago – and is also just as moving as the book was. Terence Davies has written a script – including much of his own dialogue – worthy of Wharton’s original acclaimed novel. In addition, he is also an excellent director, creating an amazing world of his own - the cinematography and costume dressing are outstanding. Davies subtlety manipulates the mood and atmosphere with precise pacing, slow pans and fade ins and outs.

The cast is also near faultless. Gillian Anderson rewards the brave casting choice and goes on to show her range outside her signature FBI agent role – quite frankly, she was robbed by not at least getting nominated at this year’s Oscars. All of the supporting actors are great too – especially Eric Stoltz, who gives his best performance in years, and Dan Aykroyd, who once again shows that he is good in drama as well as comedy. The other great, recent Wharton adaptation, Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Age of Innocence’, got Oscar recognition, and House of Mirth is just as good but perhaps did not benefit from the buzz that would surround a Scorsese picture. It’s a shame, as this film was really good enough to warrant three or four Oscar nods.

The Region 2 DVD is an excellent disc, one of the best UK releases so far this year. FilmFour/VCI should be applauded for letting this film have a DVD release as good as some of the big-budget Hollywood movies get.