The House of Mirth (2000)

Idea: Lily Bart (Gillian Anderson) is a beautiful woman who desires a life of independence. Unfortunately, in New York in 1905, independence is not hers to be had. She aims to marry rich but falls for Lawrence Selden (Eric Stoltz), the former lover of her married best friend, Bertha (Laura Linney). Her quest for financial independence lands her in the debt of her other best friend’s husband, Gus (Dan Aykroyd), which puts her in a compromising position.

Remember when I reviewed Wilde, and I said that the writers wanted us to believe that everyone in Victorian/turn of the century England was gay and coming on to Oscar Wilde?

Well, Edith Wharton (novelist) and Terence Davies (writer/director) want the viewer to believe that everyone in the oughts was straight and coming on to Lily Bart, despite their marital status.

The hysterical part is that I can’t imagine why! I can see how Anderson could be considered a good looking lady, so I’ll give them points for that. But she’s a terrible actress! The only thing she did convincingly was hyperventilate. Unfortunately, that was her reaction to every situation, so I can hardly say that she possesses much in the way of discernment.

Luckily, she’s a got a pretty stellar cast to hold her up. There’s Stoltz, Linney, and Aykroyd, plus Anthony LaPaglia! Excitement!

I’ve started theorizing a fair bit lately. This movie is another example of two things that I have been noticing frequently in films.
1) If you are a woman, particularly in Victorian times, and you are either a) stuck in a marriage that you don’t want, or b) trying to avoid a marriage you don’t want, you kill yourself. Apparently, despite a multitude of other options, suicide is the most likely choice for these ladies.
2) When a woman comes between two men, those men will initially go after each other but generally get over it. However, when a man comes between two women, one, if not both, will stop at nothing to destroy the other’s life. Not just their relationship with that man, oh no, their entire life.

In my personal experience, I have observed neither of the above two trends in real life. So why are they so prevalent elsewhere?

Basically speaking, I don’t think I like Edith Wharton novels turned into movies. They always seem to be about people in love who never get together. At all. Just desire and disappointment. While realistic, I suppose, it’s not very interesting to watch. Davies makes it clear that Lily is doomed from the outset, so it’s difficult to believe in her for more than a second.

And, really, what’s the point of a protagonist that you can’t believe in?