Easy Virtue
Easy Virtue is an adaptation of a Noel Coward play that has not been put to celluloid since 1928 under the direction of Alfred Hitchcock. While at that time it would have been a contemporary film, now it’s a period piece. Of note is Colin Firth who no longer seems to be tapped for roles as a lady killer but is cast here in a more mature role although with patience we see that he still has some moves. He plays Mr. Whittaker a distant and less than lordly lord of an English country manor. Kristin Scott Thomas plays his haughty wife and they are the parents of two conspiratorial daughters Hilda (Kimberley Nixon), Marion (Katherine Parkinson) and likeable son John (Ben Barnes). Their stately stagnation is thrown into disarray when John surprises them with his new bride who is an abomination to Mrs Whittaker for a litany of reasons but mostly because she’s an American. She was previously married and horror or horrors has a career – as a race car driver. Her name is Larita played by Jessica Biel who seems a lightweight choice for such a meaty role. With typical pithy Noel Coward banter the Whittaker women make life insufferable for Larita who for her part stands her ground yet all the while tries to fit in.