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Lily had arranged a later appointment with Selden while at the wedding, and she counts on his love for her to overcome her foolish mistakes. Lily Bart is a beautiful but impoverished socialite accustomed to comfort and luxury. Along with her younger cousin, Grace Stepney, she lives with her wealthy aunt, Julia Peniston, who gives Lily a small allowance. Edith Wharton, a sharp and unforgiving chronicler of New York society, knew that, and knew that her own independence was based on her self-employment as a novelist. Lily's social world includes George and Bertha Dorset (Terry Kinney and Laura Linney).
Eric Stoltz
This outstanding film shows how masterly is Davies's visual sense and what a light, adroit touch he has turned out to have with "period" furniture and detail. It is a revelation to see how he has transformed the novelistic conventions of place and character with such tact, and the kind of sobriety and discretion that allows the cast to give vivid, attractive performances. Lily genuinely admires lawyer Lawrence Selden, but he is too poor for her to seriously consider marrying. Her choices are limited to coarse, vulgar Simon Rosedale, a rising financier, and wealthy but dull Percy Gryce. Lily, however, cannot help preferring Selden, and during a country weekend, they take a long walk and share an innocent kiss. Gryce, with whom Lily has broken two appointments, leaves abruptly.
The House of Mirth 2000, directed by Terence Davies Film review - Time Out
The House of Mirth 2000, directed by Terence Davies Film review.
Posted: Thu, 22 Mar 2012 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Top Billed Cast
She puts the check in an envelope she addresses to her bank, and writes another for Gus Trenor, resolving her massive debt, and then takes a fatal dose of the laudanum, drifting off to oblivion in her darkened room. Finding the partially-burnt letters in his fireplace and sensing her intentions, Selden rushes to her boarding room. There, at her deathbed, holding her hand, he weeps, declaring his love for her.
The House of Mirth (2000 film)
We rank every one of the British director's movies by Metascore, from his debut Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels to his brand new film, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. With the arrival of Zack Snyder's latest Rebel Moon chapter on Netflix, we rank every one of the director's films—from bad to, well, less bad—by Metascore. The story of Lily Bart (Gillian Anderson), the beautiful society princess who miscalculates in her search for an advantageous match, becomes a Rake's Progress of social shame. The House of Mirth is a 2000 drama film written and directed by Terence Davies. An adaptation of Edith Wharton's 1905 novel The House of Mirth, the film stars Gillian Anderson.
Bertha flaunts her infidelities, and George is too timid, or well-mannered, to rise to the bait. She all but insists Lily accompany them on their yacht in the Mediterranean, and then gets herself out of a tight spot by a subterfuge against Lily so cruel and unfair, it almost rips the fabric of the film. After that, Lily is all but done for, although her descent is gradual. Despite being a period piece, The House of Mirth's depiction of social cruelty still feels chilling and relevant for today. The month ahead will bring new films from Alex Garland, Luca Guadagnino, Dev Patel, and more. To help you plan your moviegoing options, our editors have selected the most notable films releasing in April 2024, listed in alphabetical order.
The House of Mirth review – Gillian Anderson is Oscar-worthy in a brilliant adaptation
Back in New York, the Dorsets are still in marital discord and Aunt Julia has died. Lily receives only a fraction of her vast fortune, the bulk having been left to her cousin Grace. Now homeless and adrift, Lily is invited by Carry Fisher to stay with her and the Gormers for the summer. Carry believes Lily's two possibilities for marriage are George Dorset and Simon Rosedale.
Review: The House of Mirth - slantmagazine
Review: The House of Mirth.
Posted: Fri, 01 Aug 2003 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Gillian Anderson
It is an international co-production between the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States. Many was the jeer and jest that this casting had provoked here and there, I am sorry to say, with some wondering aloud if David Duchovny is to be cast in future as the lead in a biopic of Lord David Cecil. The heroine heads into the unthinkable abyss of poverty with each calamitous romantic manoeuvre among the drawing-room Machiavels and country-house Clausewitzes - and Davies compels you to watch, horrified and fascinated, as Lily arrives at her self-willed, tragic fate.
Cast & Crew
There, Lily is to be seen lounging on deck with the brilliant blue water rippling behind her, evidently shot on a sound stage with a back-projection. Apparently Davies saw a still of her in "The Mighty" (1998) and made her his first choice. Her success on "The X-Files" might seem to disqualify her, but Anderson's talent has many notes, and I liked the presence she brought to Lily Bart. It would be wrong, I think, to cast the role as a fragile flower; Lily is a strong, healthy and competent woman who has everything she needs to lead a long and happy life, except (1) a husband, or (2) a society that provides for independent women. A woman risks losing her chance of happiness with the only man she has ever loved.A woman risks losing her chance of happiness with the only man she has ever loved.A woman risks losing her chance of happiness with the only man she has ever loved. Terence Davies has characterised The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton as Jane Austen with the gloves off.
Perhaps its characters fear that if they ever really spoke their thoughts, their whole house of cards, or mirth, would tumble down. And so they speak in code, and people's lives are disposed of with trivial asides and brittle wit. Lily almost confronts Bertha Dorset with the letters written to Mr. Selden, but finding that the Dorsets have left town, she goes to Lawrence Selden, telling him she knows she lost his love. When Lawrence is not looking, she throws the letters in his lit fireplace. Lily goes home and finds her inheritance has at last been delivered.
That isn't quite true - Jane Austen is Jane Austen with the gloves off - but Davies has brought an unexpected intensity, a genuine passion, to his adaptation of Wharton's novel of love, cruelty and guile in America's high society of the early 20th century. "They will forgive a woman almost anything except the loss of her good name." As Lily finds her credit in society running out, she turns to the resources she has left--or thinks she has--and we see finally that she is defeated. She is prepared for two things in life, to be a rich man's wife or to do piecework at poverty wages.
At a wedding, Lily receives a $5,000 check from Gus Trenor, who claims to have reinvested another $4,000. Later, he invites Lily to the opera, where she is seen by her disapproving aunt and Lawrence Selden as she sits with Trenor and Rosedale. Trenor tricks her into leaving the opera and accompanying him to his home, where he tries to kiss her, claiming that Lily is not playing a fair game when she accepts his money but refuses him her attentions. When Lily arrives home, her aunt refuses to lend her the money to repay the $9,000 she received from Trenor. Lily confides in Grace, asking if she should turn to Selden for his understanding, but Grace advises against it; Grace secretly loves Lawrence and is jealous of Lily.
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