Not-So-Easy Virtue

I love when I go to a movie and don't have any major preconceptions about it. It allows for much more excitement when the movie is good. And if the movie is bad, it doesn't ever seem to fall as far from grace as a movie that I've heard a ton of hype about. ("Slumdog Millionaire" fell into that latter category for me.)

I had heard very little about the movie "Easy Virtue" before seeing it. The basic synopsis that I had read said something about a (female) American racecar driver who falls in love with a younger man of means and, after a whirlwind romance, marries him and goes back to his ancestral home in England. Set in the 1920s, what ensues is a comedy of manners, as well as a cautionary tale of expectations versus reality.

The cast is great, with Jessica Biel and Ben Barnes starring as the young couple whose love may or may not be enough to bridge the gap in their ages -- and cultures. The ancestral manse is filled out with Colin Firth and Kristin Scott Thomas playing the young man's remarkably mismatched parents.

I didn't find out until the credits were rolling that this was based on a play by Noel Coward, but suddenly so much of the repartee made sense. (As did the fact that frequently the young married couple sing out-of-tune portions of Coward's songs.) There are a lot of Coward's influences in the comedic -- and, often, uncomfortable -- moments caused by the clashes of youth and experience.

Watching Kristin Scott Thomas try to hold on to the life she has created, while her son and husband both seem to be abdicating their roles is poignant. Watching Jessica Biel make her entrances -- whether out of a racecar, down a staircase, or in the middle of a foxhunt -- is just plain fun.

Now, back to that out-of-tune singing... I fully admit that I was really bothered by the fact that Barnes's character was never in tune. It made me wish that someone like John Barrowman had been given the role. (Granted, Barrowman would have been too old for the role in a movie, but he could probably still get away with it on a stage...) I found out, though, that Kelly (my movie-going compatriot) found the out-of-tune-ness to be sweetly endearing.

So... Given the opportunity, is a little "Easy Virtue" worth your time? Yes. Keep your mind open to the options it presents? Definitely. Overall rating: B+ (Yes. The "sweetly endearing" singing bugged me that much. Sorry, Kelly.)