Vanity Fair (2004)

The orphaned daughter (Reese Witherspoon) of a poor painter (Roger Lloyd Pack) takes on the job of a governess when she leaves the orphanage. That it just her first step in her attempt to break into society and secure a place among the nobility. Based on the novel by William Makepeace Thackery and directed by Mira Nair (MONSOON WEDDING). I found this a solid adaptation of the much filmed (both in movies and television) 1848 Thackery novel. Purists may be displeased with the screenplay's changes to the character of Becky Sharp (Witherspoon) from the original source material. The calculating social climber and gold digger is gone and replaced by a much more sympathetic and likable Becky than in the book and the film is given a happy ending. Not surprisingly, Nair emphasizes India more than the book and even tosses in a Bollywood dance number. The gorgeous costumes were designed by Beatrix Aruna Pasztor. With Bob Hoskins, Gabriel Byrne, Jim Broadbent, Eileen Atkins, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Romola Garai, Geraldine McEwan, Barbara Leigh Hunt and James Purefoy.