Vanity Fair (2004)

Plot Summary

The British Empire flowers; exotic India colors English imaginations. Becky Sharp (Reese Witherspoon), the orphaned daughter of a painter and a singer, leaves a home for girls to be a governess, armed with a keen wit, good looks, fluent French, and an eye for social advancement. Society tries its best to keep her from climbing. An episodic narrative follows her for twenty years, through marriage, Napoleonic wars, a child, loyalty to a school friend, the vicissitudes of the family whose daughters she instructed, and attention from a bored marquess who collected her father's paintings. Honesty tempers her schemes.

Notice: This text may contain spoilers.

Release Date

Also Known As (A.K.A.)

Certification

Sensitive content guide

Awards

Venice Film Festival (2004)

Golden Lion 2004

Nominated

Golden Lion

Mira Nair