The Devil Wears Prada - A Movie Review

By Gerard Lawrence

Directed by David Frankel. Written by: Lauren Weisberger (novel), Aline Brosh McKenna (screenplay). Starring: Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci. Runtime :109 min.

Review Top Sheet: Tagline : hell on heels. A great watch worth your time and money with no vulgarity and sexual scenes which plague too many of Hollywood's movies these days. It's also been claimed that the story is based on Anna Wintour the editor-in-chief of Vogue. An article published in the New York Times 'fashion&style' (December28 2006) titled 'The devil likes attention' claims of editors in chief of Vogue and Marie Claire to produce a series of mini documentaries on life at the magazine due to the public's fascination on the subject and the great success and influence of genres like 'The Devil Wears Prada' and 'Ugly Betty'.

Will you like this film?

Yes if: you are in or into the high fashion industry yourself or any brand-conscious person for that matter.

No if: you're more of an adrenaline junkie and despise any genre near to 'girlie' stuff.

Maybe if: you've enjoyed watching The Princess Diaries. Here Anne Hathaway undergoes a somewhat different transformation and there is Meryl Streep instead of Julie Andrews to please.

Comments: This film is set in the bustling cosmopolitan of New York and Paris portraying the highs and lows of the multibillion dollar fashion industry and at the centre of it all playing an integral role is the fashion magazine 'runway' and the posh, hard-to-please woman whose running it Miranda Priestly (Streep) who is known for her attitude (dragon lady) and her second assistant Andrea Sachs (Hathaway) who tries very hard to fit in and morphs from a simple, plain-styled girl to a trendy glam queen. I personally feel that Streep landed this job as a subtle way of proving her critiques wrong, who for years had criticized her fashion sense especially during functions and awards and have been quoted for turning up with something two sizes bigger. When questioned in the Oprah show (together with Jim Carrey for the preview of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events) and asked what she'd like to say to her critiques. She just smiled and said 'no, that's okay, they're just doing their job'. Well here we have Ms. Streep at her very best gliding away in trendy, lavish and definitely 'in' attires.

Out-of-five star ratings:

Story: ****

Dialogue:***

Substance:***

FilmCraft:***

Story Comments: The character of Andrea had no other choice and had to accept a job offer at Elias Clarke as a personal assistant to the editor-in-chief which doesn't involve any writing. She only sees this as a stepping stone to another journalism position within a year. And to please her boss she undergoes a total make-over with the help of Nigel (Stanley Tucci) the magazine's art director. And when she was forced to quit by the almost impossible task of getting the unpublished Harry Potter book for Miranda's twins, Andrea used her resources and talents and managed to get the manuscript hence leaving her boss awestruck. Then there is the character of Emily who initially appeared to be a self-centered unpleasant workmate who actually turned out to have a soft side and not-so-evil, in fact she's just trying to work very hard to achieve her own dream and gets crappy when Andrea does things faster. The movie sends a message to all those fashion-unsavy people who despises and regard it as something less than important. All in all the moral of the story is that everything comes with a cost and eventually hard work prevails and will be rewarded.

Dialogue Comments: The dialogue's up to date with phrases and jargons of the fashion industry with words like 'couture', 'stilettos' etc. worth mentioning here though is that Miranda Priestly 's dialogues are somewhat limited and she conveys most of her messages through her eyes, lips, facial expression and body language. Now they don't simply call her as one of the best actress of all times do they. She hardly raises her voice and speaks in a soft tone and yet manages to appear 'devilish'.

Substance Comments: Anne Hathaway charms the audience yet again with her smile and wide eyes. And mesmerizes everyone with another on-screen transformation, this time not into a princess or queen but from a nerdish girl into a fashion-savy, hip chick working for the immaculate 'devil- herself'. But there is also a lot of deciphering to do especially with Miranda since her character is not always verbal, like when she takes a second look at the 'new' Andrea and sort of acknowledges her fashion sense triumph. Or in the ending scene when Andrea nods and waves gratefully for her good reviews to a newspaper editor, she (Miranda) knowingly turns away and gets into her car but then smiles to herself as if seeing herself in Andrea many years ago when she was climbing the corporate ladder herself. Uncomplicated, easy to grasp, light-hearted story line.

Filmcraft comments: Great music to lift your spirits up, in par with each scene. Note the lyrics of the songs too; it says something about the characters. Beautifully caught sights of New York city and Paris with the intricacies and grandeurs of fashion life; of the rich and famous. Valentino and Heidi Klum makes an appearance .In short, big cars, big bucks and latest trends in the fashion industry.

A taste of the story: A girl who abandoned a Stamford law offer to purse her dream career in journalism somehow or rather manages to land a job as a second assistant to Miranda priestly ;the vicious, devilish boss of the top fashion magazine 'Runway'. Hoping that this will pave the way for her future advancement, she learns the hard way trying to please Miranda and eventually earns her respect and trust but with a price. Find out her trials and tribulations and if she continues to climb the corporate ladder of fame and fashion while her personal relationship goes up in smoke or will she retreat, resign and pursue what her heart desires; what she set out for in the beginning and return to her loved ones.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gerard_Lawrence
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Devil-Wears-Prada---A-Movie-Review&id=1426278