Review of The House of Mirth on Filmviews.net
Year2000 ReviewerChris Docker
On a comparatively tiny budget of 10 million dollars, including National Lottery Money, House of Mirth seems to have pulled off an amazing feat in producing a flawlessly told and very detailed period piece.
Set just after the turn of the century in and around New York, this story of genteel society and tragedy is a wonderful recreation, especially when one considers it was shot mostly in Glasgow, Scotland.
Whilst her performance is not uncontroversial, many will agree that Gillian Anderson's acting in this award-winning film (she's in practically every scene) is little short of outstanding - and we can be thankful that she will be permanently rescued from the typecasting of X-Files as a result.
One of the interesting areas is comparing American early twentieth century society with that of England (which has been portrayed in films so many times), but the bigger interest for me was how a woman of firm moral character was dragged down by a society where women were expected to fit into certain pre-defined stereotypes. In a darker sense, it comments on the evil that can be perpetuated by basing social mores too firmly on outward "family values" rather than true integrity.
Rating: 8/10;