Vanity Fair: 5 reasons to catch up
Your new favourite period drama is all about fame, money... and Madonna's Material Girl
To many people the average period drama is about as appealing as watching party political conferences on repeat. Dimly-lit scenes, mumbled monologues in Ye Olde English, and meandering plotlines which need a history degree to unravel do not make for exciting TV. But it doesn’t have to be this way - take a well-deserved bow Vanity Fair. If you haven’t been spending your Sunday nights entranced by Becky’s world, here are five reasons why you need to catch up…
It’s a story true to our times
In a nutshell, Vanity Fair is all about money and fame. So pretty much as relevant today as it was when William Makepeace Thackeray put quill to paper in 1847. Fame and the cult of celebrity are the twin pillars of our social media-led culture – why else would 150,000 sign up to try to win a place prancing around in their underwear on this year’s Love Island? A country divided by class and wealth? Check. A male dominated society where women have to fight for equality? Check.
It’s got Michael Palin in it
Each episode begins with an introduction from national treasure Michael Palin, as author Thackeray. In the book a puppet show frames the narrative. Here it’s a fairground carousel. Palin addresses the camera in front of the twirling carousel and fire jugglers, clad in top hat, waistcoat, and cravat, clearly relishing his role. With a knowing smile and a twinkle in his eye he sums up the plot to date and makes a nod to what we are about to witness with his mellifluous tones: “This is Vanity Fair - a world where everyone is striving for what is not worth having.”
A brilliant cast worthy of the screenplay
Led by Olivia Cooke’s captivating Becky – surely a nailed-on best actress Bafta nomination? - the young, stellar cast includes Claudia Jessie as her trusting friend Amelia Sedley, a smouldering Tom Bateman as Rawdon Crawley, Charlie Rowe as Amelia’s childhood sweetheart George Osborne, and Johnny Flynn as gentleman soldier William Dobbin. Add in scene-stealing cameos from established actors - Frances de la Tour as Lady Crawley, Martin Clunes as Sir Pitt Crawley and Anthony Head’s villainous Lord Steyne - and you have an ideal blend of youth and experience.
Our irrepressible (anti-) hero
As leading characters go Becky Sharp is a thoroughly 21st-century heroine. She knows what she wants and will - seemingly – stop at nothing to get it. Her relationships are merely a method to reach the heights she strives. And in a nod to our complicity in her inextricable rise to the top of Regency society, Cooke’s Becky continuously breaks the fourth wall – casting a knowing glance in our direction as her schemes take flight. It’s a clever, compelling touch which again sets the series apart from other strait-laced period productions.
A thoroughly modern soundtrack
There’s no stuffy orchestration here. In keeping with the modern adaptation, and the show’s female protagonist, the music at the end of each episode is either by female artists – Kate Bush and Madonna – or female covers of tracks such as Love Will Tear Us Apart. The carefully chosen songs all reflect the show’s themes too. And each episode starts with a cover of Bob Dylan’s All Along The Watchtower by Afterhere featuring Berenice Scott’s breathless vocals. It’s a fitting theme for Vanity Fair: “There must be some kind of way outta here, said the joker to the thief.” Indeed.
Vanity Fair is available to watch now on ITV player
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