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.

[–] Cookie.L.A. (2117) 7 years ago

I love this (tragic) film and think most of the acting' superb.

The problems I have with it are 1.) Mr. Rosedale seems intelligent and attractive, so it's confusing to a modern audience why Lily refuses him when he'd solve all her problems, and 2.) it isn't clear why Eric Stoltz can't marry her....or even that there's much undying attraction between them in the first place.

(I understand that in the book, Rosedale isn't supposed to be physically attractive, and his being Jewish is a social handicap to Lily. As it's presented here, though, he doesn't even seem particularly Jewish, so that's a non-issue even if you want to go down that path...)

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