Vanity Fair Details

It can't have been easy condensing William Makepeace Thackeray's sprawling, dense novel into a movie. Small wonder, then, that Mira (Monsoon Wedding) Nair's film is a little lacking in linear plot, being more a series of bitty scenes than a coherent narrative. But there's still much to admire in this nicely written (by Matthew Faulk, Mark Skeet and Gosford Park screenwriter Julian Fellowes) and handsomely mounted adaptation. Reese Witherspoon is surprisingly good as Becky Sharp, Thackeray's calculating, ambitious heroine. Her English accent is pretty useful, too. And James Purefoy, as the gambler she marries during her no-holds-barred bid for a better life, stands out in a starry supporting cast that also includes Gabriel Byrne, Eileen Atkins and Jim Broadbent.

Enjoyable adaptation that has been given a touch of the exotic, with an undue emphasis on India. The drawback is that Reece Witherspoon's Becky is too likeable; the character's ruthlessness has been suppressed.