Vanity Fair

[JaneJeffer]

I'm finding Rebecca annoying. I haven't read the book so have no idea if she's meant to be.

Yes Schadenfreude, they’ve amalgamated Pitt with Bute.

Bute is Sir Pitt’s brother, not Rawdon's in the book.

Thank you Scribbly - I wondered where that came from.

And you're right - Becky didn't give a monkeys about the Crawley girls. I wish the producers and directors wouldn't mess about with things which totally change the nature of the novel/characters.

On the other hand - Michael Palin must be finding this a nice little earner!

Oh God, yes that too, Michael Palin playing William Makepeace Thackeray speaking those profound and eternal lines from his masterpiece of Victorian literature “Previously on Vanity Fair...”

Jesus wept.

What crap ... trying too hard to be modern, too many changes and miscast actors. Why not just find a modern story to dramatise?

SchadenfreudePersonified

That's what I thought re. Pitt's eldest son. I believe Bute was a cousin or Sir Pitt's brother but it's early and my memory is bad. I'm also certain it wasn't Pitt's eldest son's wife who writes/visits Miss Pinkerton to dig a little about Becky, it's Bute's wife. I think ITV has fiddle with/merged a few characters together.

And totally unnecessarily Stella - I wonder if they were trying to keep the costs down I can almost hear the director and producer "Oh - just roll those two characters together and we'll only have to employ one actor . . . Doesn't matter if it doesn't make sense - the viewing public are half-wits anyway. I wonder if there's any way we can get Coleen Nolan to do a guest spot - perhaps as a nautch girl when Becky visits Jos in India and shags his brains out in a howdah?. I know that's not in the book, but we need to spice this up a bit"

William Makepeace Thackeray speaking those profound and eternal lines from his masterpiece of Victorian literature “Previously on Vanity Fair...”

Scribbly

I enjoyed it. It was different.

Have you seen other adaptations Polly? I might have enjoyed this one if I hadn't been mentally comparing it to previous ones (but not the Reece Witherspoon film - that was dross!)

Schadenfreude , on reconsideration you're right, it's not reflecting the book to have a handsome Dobbin; but he still has to be portrayed as a bit of a nellie as to begin with he lets himself get pushed around by richer and more upper class "friends". His true goodness shines through later and he stands up for what is right, good man!

Got annoyed by the telescoping of characters in the Crawley family. Rawdon's elder brother is Pitt and he marries the lovely kind Lady Jane Sheepshanks later; the Rev Bute in the book is Sir Pitt's brother, and indeed his wife ferrets out Becky's background. I'm not sure if they had several daughters; I only recall the son James whom they sent on a mission to London to schmooze his rich aunt.

I definitely can't recall any lumpen daughters (or any daughters at all). I'll have to re-read, but I'm part way through a biography of Pilate (not bragging) and i want to finish it. If I leave it half way I'll have to start again because I'll have got lost.

Can't remember his real name but the actor who plays Filtch in Harry Potter and Waldon Frey in GOT plays Pitt in the 1998 version and he's just so scummy in the part it's great!

I should say it was the BBC/Andrew Davies adaptation which prompted me to read Vanity Fair in the first place. It's probably the book I return to most often to reread as there's always something new to discover in its pages.

A few others things that I think ITV have failed with -

George Osborne isn't snobby/sneery or vain enough. As much as I think the Reese Witherspoon film version was ludicrous, Jonathan Rhys' George was characterised very very well.

Another thing I liked about the film was that it bought a very different reading to the novel by concentrating on the effects of India and the Raj on Georgian London.

At the opening of Monday's episode I remember thinking how fake Rawden looked against the backdrop of Queen's Crawley and I do wonder if this was deliberate to back up they're all Thackeray's puppets to do with as he will. In fact, I do think there's a level of inauthenticity about all the sets that makes them look like stage sets, thus further underlining they're all puppets.

One thing I do like about the ITV adaptation is one of the things I like about the film version of Pride & Prejudice - the age appropriate casting.

I'm spent far too much time at work thinking about Vanity Fair, and I love that I've got an outlet for it all!

Couldn't watch all the first episode. Becky just looked and sounded too modern to ring at all true. Her character could be portrayed perfectly well without this - I don't know why they feel the need to mess with classics. It's a long time since I read VF (will now be downloading to the Kindle, hooray for 0p classics) so don't recall the story in detail, but was afraid they'd dumb it down/sex it up, and generally muck about with the plot. Won't know now, since I won't be watching the rest.

As for a narrator on screen, IIRC this was done very successfully with a hilarious Tom Jones adaptation years ago, so if I'm right it can be done.

By contrast to this Becky, I can't help thinking of Lizzie Eustace in the 70s (I think) Pallisers series. She was an archetypal scheming little minx, but it was all very well and amusingly done, while perfectly in keeping with the Victorian period.
For anyone who's into period dramas and hasn't seen it, The Pallisers is well worth a watch - IIRC 24 episodes! so perfect for long dark winter evenings.

He is Ginger - really seedy - a perfect Sir Pitt.

As for a narrator on screen, IIRC this was done very successfully with a hilarious Tom Jones adaptation years ago, so if I'm right it can be done.

That was a brilliant adaptation, too - got to give the BBC their due; they can't be faulted on this type of programme.

I didn't watch the Pallisers, but one of my favourite Trollope novels is "The Eustace Diamonds". I must have read it about four/five times.

Lizzie is such a believable character vacillating between lying, confident, manipulative greed, and terrified anxiety that she'll be caught out.

There are a few Trollope adaptations that are worth watching. I loved "The Way We Live Now".

Am I the only person that liked Reese Witherspoon as Becky Sharp? I thought she was an excellent characterisation of the role in the film....

Except they totally fudged it by making her a loving mother

As for a narrator on screen, IIRC this was done very successfully with a hilarious Tom Jones adaptation years ago, so if I'm right it can be done.

I still think about that adaptation. It was wonderful. I found the book unreadable though.

I'm also not convinced about this version of Becky. It's like she's Tim travelled from 2018, and is an amused tourist.

Sep-18 08:09:53
Have you seen other adaptations Polly

Sorry, I meant it was different to other Dramas currently on TV.

Loved the book, but not read it for years. This version is a lot of fun though.

I KNEW that ITV would fuck up Vanity Fair, and they have.

WTF is Martin Clunes doing in it? He plays Martin Clunes in everything he is in.

Agree that Dobbin is miscast (but so is almost everybody). He has captured some of Dobbin’s quiet dignity but he just looks wrong.

What irritates me is, they have got a few famous faces and have fiddled with the story to give them more screen time or allow them to do their ‘thing’ (eg Martin Clunes). The worst example of this is (also miscast) Suranne Jones popping up again in episode 2. In the book, Barbara Pinkerton is a minor character whose principal duty is to deprive Becky of a ‘dixionary’ because she hasn’t been an obedient servant. ITV have thought, oh, we’ve got a star, let’s shoehorn her character into some other scenes.

I’m with everyone who thinks that this adaptation is crap compared to Andrew Davies’ 1998 version for the BBC. Everybody in that production was a fantastic actor. Everybody! I first read the book aged 15 and the BBC adaptation brought it to life brilliantly, with subtlety and humour. This ITV version feels cheap and ersatz by comparison. I am dreading seeing what they have done with the O’Dowds and Lord Steyne.

Unlike many on this thread, I am really enjoying this adaption and think the actress who is playing Becky Sharp is very good.

Toga I'm enjoying it too, I've not read the book so that probably helps as you're not constantly comparing and contrasting. I've bought the much praised BBC version on Dvd for a fiver on Amazon but will try to hold off watching it until the current production has finished. After that I may try to plough through the book which I've downloaded foc. I'll be Vanity Faired out!