It is said that you should never meet your heroes. That by doing so, you will break the illusion. That you will see the darker or simply even below average side to their everyday life, and love them less for it.
Anne Hathaway's character doesn't have that problem in "The Devil Wears Prada" — the film based on a 2003 novel of the same name — but simply because she appears to be the only person on the planet who has never heard of Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep).
Andrea Sachs (Hathaway) is an enthusiastic young woman who wants a career in journalism, but whose best offer so far is to be Priestly's new assistant. It's an opportunity Sachs takes with both hands, but because she's desperate for work rather than wanting a job at Runway, the leading fashion magazine of which Priestly is editor-in-chief. She is completely out of her depth — not only has she only just discovered her new boss, but Priestly describes her as having "no style or sense of fashion".
Throughout the film, characters refer to Sachs' new job as though it is gold dust. But it's more like grains of sand than gold. Several times, Sachs is told that "a million girls would kill for that job," because of how much Priestly is worshipped.
Yet it often feels like the reverse is true: that the job would kill a million girls. Priestly has a reputation for her stone-faced, power-obsessed attitude, and everyone seems terrified of her, veering in different directions to avoid her when she arrives for work.
This film would probably work as a social experiment. Throughout, Sachs is forced to go above and beyond for Priestly with no recognition. In a sense, Sachs is asking too much in wanting credit for doing her job, but her tasks are often absurd. Assistants are meant to get the coffee order, but what about an unpublished Harry Potter manuscript? It feels more like Sachs is a personal slave rather than a personal assistant.
Hathaway does well to capture the breathless struggle of her character. She and Emily Blunt — who plays Priestly's other assistant, Emily Charlton — are able to reflect the stress and horror of their jobs, although neither particularly stand out. Like their characters, they do their job.
Streep never seems to get out of first gear, and you often feel she's putting in one-tenth of her complete effort. So it speaks volumes of her talent that she is still captivating, still able to steal the screen the moment she steps onto it. She's calm and collected, and radiates the power her character holds. When she dismisses someone or purses her lips to express "catastrophe" level disappointment, you wonder if the planet might sprout legs to kneel before her.
There's a good supporting performance from Stanley Tucci, too, as Nigel Kipling, Runway's art director. Kipling is charismatic and charming, and despite making fun of Sachs to begin with, the pair become friends pretty quickly.
Aline Brosh McKenna's script is brought to life by some talented direction from David Frankel, who is acutely aware of how important it is to make Priestly look in control. He often opts for low-angle shots of Streeps, which balances out the fact that she is shorter than Hathaway. But it's Mark Livolsi's editing that is especially impressive, with quick, sharp cuts during a number of montages early in the film set the pace. Ultimately, "The Devil Wears Prada" is a pleasant watch. Nothing is grating and the story choices are usually correct.
You remember very quickly into the film that Streep is one of the best actresses alive. An hour and a half later and you could easily wonder if Streep is truly like the cruel character she portrays or the pleasant woman she often appears in public. The lesson of the film is that it's probably best not to find out the truth yourself.
No comments:
Post a Comment