Lily Bart's pursuit of wealth and social status in House of Mirth

House of Mirth

The film revolves around the early years of the 20th Century and the changing faces of the economy hence the social response to such changes. It is predominantly a depiction of the lifestyle that most ladies opted for with the increase in urbanization and amassing of wealth by a few individuals.

Lily Bart, the chief character in the movie, is depicted as one who is highly influenced by the change in the social aspect of life due to urbanization. She is a pretty, intelligent young woman who sets out on a primary mission of getting a man who is wealthy and prominent for a husband. The young lady sets out in pursuit of her dreams regardless of the measures she takes.

Lily is swallowed by the social hypocrisy that is predominant at that time in New York. She takes advantage of her age and beauty to attract charm from men and stops listening to her heart and as fate would have it, she seemed to be involved in the right things but at the wrong time. From the onset, lily seems to be a strong willed woman who knows exactly what she wants in life. Indeed, she rejects the approaches by Lawrence; a young lawyer whom she feels does not earn enough for her to cope with. Lily strives to meet the societal expectations and conform to the predominant trend at the time, hence falls for riches and in the process, unfortunately, misses the true love of her life, Selden Lawrence. Her attitude and overzealous appetite for wealth and societal fitting leads her to self-destruction at the end and poor life and despair in life. No one wants to associate with her once they realize she was in a relationship with a married man, Gus Trenor. From this point, the world turns against Lily literally. She never gets a job that she can stay at for long, decides to make amends with friends turned foe to no success and her social life never picks up again, she ends up missing the person she was eyeing for marriage as well as missing the person who was eyeing her for marriage when she accidentally overdoses on sleeping pills and dies just as a would be suitor arrived.

This movie is an adaptation of the literary work by Edith Wharton with the same title, "The House of Mirth" and the physical location of the movie is in New York. The city was fast revolutionizing at the turn of the 20th Century, with the urban population swelling and industries coming up in every corner of New York. Liberalism was the order of the day and people generally became exposed to cultures and habits from varied parts of the U.S.A. And even the world (Urban Cinefile, 2013).

Casting and performance

The cast is quite a brief one consisting of Gillian Anderson - Lily Bart, Eric Stoltz - Lawrence Selden, Dan Aykroyd - Gus Trenor, Eleanor Bron - Mrs. Peniston, Terry Kinney - George Dorset, Anthony LaPaglia - Sim Rosedale, Laura Linney - Bertha Dorset, Jodhi May - Grace Stepney and Elizabeth McGovern - Carry Fisher as the main characters that were used to develop the plot of the movies (Fandago, 2013).

Gillian Anderson who played the role of Lily Bart displays a top performance in the movie. She takes up the starring role and executes the role magnificently and in a subtle manner. She portrays the very intended aspects of the character she was acting out and gives her the aura of the early 20th Century without faults. She is a master piece that offers perfect pivot for the plot and the rest of the cast as well.

The same glamour and mastery of roles is seen from the rest of the cast. They play a good role in give credence as well as the needed dimension to roles that are well defined by the scripter. The roles are played out so well that even those with very little role like Laura Linney, come out to stand out and be noticed and memorized by the viewers.

Historical accuracy

The movie is widely noted as a depiction of the social and historical events of the 1800s and the early 20th Century min New York. It is a satire and a parody of the daily happenings at that time in New York. It can be classified under the realism genre as it touched on real happenings that were occasioned by the urban changes. It gives an account of romance as well as tragedy within the city by picking on a few people (characters) to use as prototypes in the movie.

Directing choices and creativity

To have an adaptation of a novel into a movie is not a very easy endeavor and calls for a lot of creativity and commitment in directing. If this is coupled with the time setting of the movie, which is the early 20th Century, and not the contemporary times, then this becomes a double challenge. There is need therefore to ensure that the theme and plot is kept intact even as the director struggles to bring out the charters. This balance is noted in the movie where the director carefully chooses the characters to cast and in particular, the central charter who was well chosen and creatively conveyed throughout the movie. Lily is shaped by the director to act as a hinge around which other characters got their balance and the director, in his creativity successfully did this. It allowed the movie to progress in one piece.

Referencs

Fandago, (2013). The House of Mirth: Cast and crew. Retrieved February 27, 2012 from http://www.fandango.com/thehouseofmirth_v212189/castandcrew

Urban Cinefile, (2013). The House of Mirth. Retrieved February 27, 2012 from http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=4928&s=video_files