Easy Virtue

Year: 2008

Actors: Jessica Biel, Ben Barnes, Charlotte Riley, Colin Firth

Duration: 97 min

Set in the early 1930s, Larita (Jessica Biel) meets John Whittaker (Ben Barnes) in Monaco. Larita is from Detroit and her manly array of hobbies coupled with her rebellious attitude make others often think badly of her. John and Larita marry and he takes his bride to the family mansion near Flintham in rural Nottinghamshire to meet his mother, Veronica Whittaker (Kristin Scott Thomas) and father, Major Jim Whittaker (Colin Firth) and his two sisters, Hilda (Kimberley Nixon) and Marion (Katherine Parkinson). Veronica, already predisposed to dislike her new daughter-in-law, is further disappointed to find that she, like Jim, speaks fluent French. Larita also meets John's former girlfriend and neighbor Sarah Hurst (Charlotte Riley), who is gracious about the marriage. John's sisters are somewhat neurotic, homely and mentally troubled girls who have not only inherited Veronica's manipulative streak, but also both share an obsession with men. Hilda is desperate to find a husband but behaves like a child and fixates on morbid newspaper clippings, while Marion is overweight, unattractive and still pining over a man who left her. Larita quickly develops a sort of love-hate relationship with the sisters, but befriends Furber (Kris Marshall), a lonely butler who has spent much of his career in the Whittaker household observing the family's petty and bizarre behavior with silent disdain. With the assistance of elderly groundskeeper Jackson (Jim McManus), Furber helps Larita after she accidentally sits on and squashes to death Poppy, an obnoxious pet chihuahua in the household. Unfortunately for Larita, a hound digs up Poppy's corpse, and the family becomes even more hateful.Larita makes some inadvertent gaffes. She teaches Hilda the Can-Can dance at a fundraiser, and Hilda decides to dance with no panties on, thus mooning the audience, much to her later humiliation when she learns that it's not traditional to dance with nothing on as she was told. Larita also hangs a graphic painting (modeled after herself nude) on the wall in the mansion's parlor room, and gives some joking advice to Hilda that unfortunately results in embarrassment to, and enmity from, the sisters. Sarah comes to the Whittakers' parties, and to play tennis, accompanied by her brother Philip (Christian Brassington), on whom Hilda has a crush. Philip, however, is infatuated with Larita, which further angers Hilda. Larita reveals she has been previously married and remains calm in the face of her mother-in-law's disdain. To Larita's disappointment, John is not eager to leave the estate so that they can find a home of their own. Larita is bored and miserable in the countryside and hates blood sports like hunting, and any of the entertainment that country English people seem to enjoy, finding it cruel and silly. In protest of the fox hunt she drives a refurbished motorcycle out past the hunters and their hounds in order to chase the fox herself but keep the hounds away, thus protecting it. She reads Lady Chatterley's Lover, shocking the female relatives (although Marion secretly reads the book as well), and she will not play tennis. She dislikes Veronica's gaudy dog-themed decor, her constant entertaining of her friends, and the overcooked food. She tries to get along with Veronica who refuses to accept her and resents her attempts to bring American traditions into the home, including Thanksgiving, which none of the Whittaker Family understand or appreciate.Veronica and her hunting party discover John and Larita having sex in an outbuilding. Larita becomes increasingly isolated and demoralized by her mother-in-law's derision, verbal attacks and dirty tricks. Larita also treats Furber and Jackson better than Veronica does, and thus both men develop a quiet mutual hatred for their employer. Larita retreats to Jim's workshop to work on his motorcycle. Still troubled from having lost all his men in the Great War, traumatized by what he experienced (although Larita is shocked to learn that Veronica came back to him even after he was caught at a brothel) Jim has lost interest in the estate. Any love between him and his wife has long since disappeared. The Whittakers have fallen on hard times and are on the verge of bankruptcy, yet deny Larita's offers to help, afraid of losing their 7th generation estate. John loses his independence and seems immature as he is drawn into family life. John's affection for Larita seems to be waning, as he complains about his wife to Sarah, who finds his overture inappropriate.Hilda receives a newspaper clipping from her uncle in America revealing information about Larita's first husband, an older man dying of cancer. It turns out Larita was charged with murder of her dying husband but was found innocent in court. Nevertheless, John withdraws from Larita, while Jim scolds his daughters for their cruelty and Furber expresses his disgust at Hilda's nosiness by pouring too much gravy all over her food. At Veronica's Christmas party, everything is a disaster. Furber secretly drinks the guests' wine and stumbles around drunk, while Larita hides in the darkness of her bedroom, refusing to join the party. Veronica fibs to the guests that it's due to a "headache". John refuses to dance with Larita when she finally joins in the festivities, so Jim dances a tango with her. Afterwards Furber and Sarah console her. Furber tells her that he himself was once arrested for bigamy, an ironic twist since the Whittakers have such suspicion of Larita but not of him. Sarah meanwhile rushes to find Larita - in spite of everything the two have become good friends. Larita determines to leave the marriage, and on her way out of the mansion, she apologizes to Sarah for having interrupted her relationship with John. She hopes that Sarah will take John back, and the two women share a private hug as Larita gives Sarah her expensive wedding ring. Veronica and her daughters confront Larita one last time, and an argument ensues in which Veronica and Larita trade barbs, and Larita advises the daughters to leave and see the world, in their own eyes, while they still can, declaring, "I can't live in this house anymore... nothing can." The two sisters only sneer rudely but appear to resemble Veronica in a more hideous form, dressed in the same dark garb with the same sour faces. After breaking it off with John, who she admits she regards as a child who has no idea what real love actually is, she admits that she poisoned her own dying husband out of the deepest love there can be, and that John will never be able to love her that deeply. Larita destroys a large bust as she leaves the house in one last act of retaliation. On her way out, she says goodbye to Furber and in gratitude gives him and Jackson a substantial amount of money. Furber wonders where his new friend will go, and Larita reassures him that she'll find her own way. As he wishes her good luck, Jim hops into the car, prepared to run away with Larita and take a chance at a carefree adventure. Furber wishes the pair good luck, and they both drive off, leaving the mansion behind for good.

Genre: Action   Comedy   Romance