MovieChat Forums > The House of Mirth (2000) Discussion > Very Disappointed

Very Disappointed

posted 18 years ago by sietz
29 replies | jump to latest

Hmm...I am a HUGE fan on Edith Wharton and the novel, The House of Mirth. It is one of the only novels that has ever made me cry at the end.
After seeing the fantastic "The Age of Innocence" I was ridiulously excited about the House of Mirth.

Ugh...what a mess.
Firstly Eric Stolz as Lawrence Selden was woefully miscast...he was such a bore...and there was no chemistry between Lily and he.

Secondly...Gillian Andersen was WAY over her head like noones business...just because the novel is set 100 years ago...does not mean that people spoke at one word every 30 seconds...it's a trap that most bad actors make when in a period film and it's ridiculous.

The screenplay was a mess...and Dan Ackroyd as Gus? Give me a break.

It's SUCH a shame because the sets etc were absolutely beautiful.

[–] Addicted2MySVU 18 years ago

i have one word for you....iniquitous

this film is absolutely fabulous. gillian was pure perfection. SOMEONE just doesn't know otherworldly acting when they see it.

nikayla

[–] EdwardKimberly76 18 years ago

***MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!**

I have to agree with WHoo... I like Gillian Anderson very much & think she's probably a super-cool gal, but thought she just didn't work out as Lily. (I suspect SVU - and I'm not picking a message board fight - that you are a big fan of The X-Files... a fan base that propelled this movie further than I think it would have gone without G.A.)

The movie is not a success for me largely because I'm a HUGE fan of the novel & Edith Wharton’s. I went to a screening of it where Terrence Davies spoke & I thought (and think) he was (and is) a pretentious old fart (I can't stomach his "commentary" on the DVD for more than a minute. And I've tried to watch the movie - but that character of Grace irritates the BLANK out of me. I think it's arrogant of him to presume that his choice to delete the character of Gerty Farish, makes the whole thing better. It doesn't. Gerty is the YIN to Lily's YANG in the book. She's what Lily COULD be if she wasn't such a product of the moral and materialistic bankruptcy of her Society. Grace Stepney, in the book, is sometimes (and merely) a humorous foil to Lily's Social success, which makes her receiving Julia Penistion's inheritance that much more insulting (and HUMOROUS!!!!). I think Gillian Anderson is a wonderful actress, but nobody save Laura Linney's slimy Bertha really matched my vision of the book. On the whole I don't blame the actors - really - as much as I blame Davies.

[–] ckwimb 18 years ago

I wholeheartedly disagree.....Gillian Anderson's performanc was a revelation.....beautiful and heartbreaking. Spot on!

[–] meisje_met_de_parel 18 years ago

I love the book and I was insanely excited when I saw this would be on one day. The cast looked good, and of course I like the story. I turned it on, watched the three opening minutes and went UCK! This film just wasn't Gillian's thing to me. She's an amazing actress, as is the rest of the cast, but something just went wrong with this film. Maybe it was talking too slow, I don't know. It has great costumes and a wonderful set, but something about the characters mannerisms just went off. Perhaps I'll give it another go soon.

[–] [email protected] 18 years ago

Completely in agreement, Gillian Anderson, aside from her spin on the over hyped XFiles, is usually in over her head. I was a fan when Xfiles started but after I saw her work aside from that vehicle, reliazed she was simply another one note actress, and wasn't even particularily good on that one note. I should've have deduced just from the credits that this was going to be a very bad watch. Anytime one sees the likes of Laura Linney only featured in a Gillian Anderson movie, you know the complete concept must be a very bad farce from it's initial birth.

[–] Mustang (5236) 6 months ago

Have to admit I have not been a fan of her work other than X Files. She isn't even sexy in other roles.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] sarcynic 18 years ago

I have to say the same. I'm a HUGE fan of the House of Mirth novel, and I think Lily and Selden are such unusually rich characters. I very much like Gillian Anderson, (and am a fan of the X-Files,) but she simply doesn't fit the role. Lily, to me, is more perfect in her beauty. Don't get me wrong, I do not think Gilly is ugly, but she isn't a "classic beauty" --she needed to be more... perfect, I think. Someone who could command attention.

Selden also. This is a character that I loved from the onset. I don't think Stolz was bad...but Selden is such an amazing character with such depth, and he just needed to be played by someone with a much stronger presence. Then again...perhaps it's just my great admiration for him that makes it hard to cast anyone as him.

I was also disappointed that there was no Gerty Farish.....she is indeed a minor character, but she's damn important!! She's is the symbol of a life Lily could've been happy with....very important point in this novel! Getting rid of her was a stupid move.

I can see Dan Akroyd in Gus Trenor, but I can't get rid of his comedic startext. Bad choice.

[–] fiftyfootqueenie 18 years ago

Joe Gillis - imbecile! A bad TV movie? If you think those kind of sets and costumes represent low-budget then you've been spoilt.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] sietz 17 years ago

Glad some people agree with me :)
Yes...Selden was awful...he didn't make Selden liking or charming. Complete waste of time.
I think someone with more acting chops like Kate Winslet or Cate Blanchett would have made this a much more enjoyable experience. Don't get me wrong...Gillian looked o.k...but she just doesn't have the period acting experience/talend IMO
As for Selden...call em cray, but I don't think Daniel Day Lewis would have done a bad job...he really impressed me with his Newland in AOI.

[–] debbiebuster2001 17 years ago

I had not read HOM but thoroughly enjoyed and was affected by this movie. Especially Ms. Anderson's performance, which was intense, and certainly not a one note performance. I've read many comments on the film, here and elsewhere, mostly positive. Some of the more negative reviewers seem to have expected modern pacing, modern speech, modern social concepts, etc. . As for looking the part of Lily, I think Ms. Anderson was perfect. Views on beauty differ depending on the times and she looked right for the era. I did think Eric Stoltz was uninspiring as Seldon, while Laura Linney lethal as the villain.
IMHO a drama such as this needs more involvement by an audience than most lighter weight films today. Because of that I think some people might dismiss this film as slow, or dull compared to more obvious dramas. Beneath the surface of the story is an emotional, dramatic, & tragic impact. And it doesn't take car crashes,physical violence or over the top special effects. As for Ms.Anderson, she has gone on to create more laudable roles (Bleak House, Last King of Scotland, Tristam Shandy, etc). I love all kinds of movies, entertainment for it's sake alone is fine, too. But, I especially love out of the ordinary movies like House of Mirth.

[–] Jakuja 16 years ago

Gillian Anderson was indeed intense. That's part of the problem. Lilly wasn't an intense person. She was fragile, she was wry, she was adaptable, she was a little lazy, a little shallow, kind-hearted but with a short attention span, rather vague, and very graceful. She was 'cool,' not 'intense.'

[–] ross-mcglashan 17 years ago

I thought the young man in the pharmacy towards the end was superb.

I could be anybody!
No you couldn't. This is Information Retrieval.

[–] foreverendalways 17 years ago

That's stellar. Pharmacy guy.. woo boy.

Pure comic gold.

[–] susieq19 17 years ago

Having read the book, I decided to watch this film not knowing what to expect. The book left such an impression on me with strong characters and a highly descriptive narrative. I really wasn't let down by the film, many of the scenes played out very well and I felt that the actors were, for the majority, well cast. I think Gillian Anderson did a particularly good job as Lily, giving her the vulnerable pride and determination that Wharton had intended. Also, I thought it was beautifully filmed in Glasgow, where I lived at the time of watching it.

Kiss Prudence

[–] fsf1922 17 years ago

I agree that the movie did quite a few things right. They did a great job creating the environment of turn of the century New York and I loved how the opera scene was done. As for the cast, Laura Linney made the perfect Bertha Dorset and Eleanor Bron was great as Aunt Peniston. I also liked Jodhi May's performance and Anderson did a pretty good job as well. It was also cool how they included Marcello's (sp?) oboe concerto throughout the film. But, it just doesn't do the novel justice by a long shot. My chief complaint is that they completely cut out the character of Gerty Farish. She represented the other end of society and is the one good character in the book. But instead, Davies decides to take liberties decides to weirdly put her into Grace's character (who by the way are practically opposite). He said he did this to give the scene where Lily asks Grace for money a new meaning and to add jealousy over Selden to the equation. The movie would have been much more successful with the addition of her. I agree with the person who suggested Daniel Day-Lewis play Selden.