Vanity Fair (2018 TV series)

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Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair 2018 TV Series Title Card.png
Genre Historical period drama
Created by Gwyneth Hughes
Based on Vanity Fair
by William Makepeace Thackeray
Written byGwyneth Hughes
Directed by James Strong
Starring
Theme music composer Bob Dylan
Opening theme"All Along the Watchtower" by Afterhere
Composer Isobel Waller-Bridge
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes7
Production
Executive producers
CinematographyEd Rutherford
Editors
  • Jamie Pearson
  • Steven Worsley
  • Danielle Palmer
Camera setup Single-camera
Running time45—47 minutes
Production companies Mammoth Screen
ITV Studios
Amazon Prime Video
Original release
Network ITV
Release2 September (2018-09-02) 
7 October 2018 (2018-10-07)

Vanity Fair is a 2018 historical drama miniseries based on the 1848 novel of the same name by William Makepeace Thackeray. It was produced by Mammoth Screen and distributed by ITV and Amazon Studios.

Contents

The series stars Olivia Cooke as Becky Sharp, Tom Bateman as Captain Rawdon Crawley, Claudia Jessie as Amelia Sedley, and Michael Palin as the author William Makepeace Thackeray. [1] [2]

Cast

Main

Recurring

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release dateUK viewers
(millions) [3]
1"Miss Sharp in the Presence of the Enemy" James Strong Gwyneth Hughes 2 September 2018 (2018-09-02)5.45 [4]
After losing her teaching job with Ms. Pinkerton due to an unladylike attitude, orphan Becky Sharp is given the position of governess in Hampshire that she does not want. Kind-hearted and wealthy Amelia finds Becky crying in her room. Becky convinces Amelia to let her stay with her. As a parting shot at Ms. Pinkerton, she shouts "Vive la France", "Vive Napoleon". Amelia's parents take Becky into their house. Becky makes herself out as a victim but the butler knows better. Amelia mentions her brother Jos in India. Seems like everyone except Amelia suspects Becky of trying to impose upon Amelia's family. Jos arrives and seems taken with Becky. After giving Becky flowers Jos regales Becky with his adventures in India. Amelia's fiancee George tries to talk Jos out of connecting himself to Becky. Becky, Jos, Amelia, and George go to Vauxhall Pleasure Garden and go on a balloon ride and watch fireworks. Jos makes a drunken fool out of himself and almost proposes to Becky. A letter arrives for Amelia the next day in which Jos asks for Becky's forgiveness for what he said to her and that he's leaving for Cheltenham. George tells Becky "better luck in your next life". Becky packs and Amelia offers Becky a necklace but Becky declines as she does not want to be accused of thievery. As Becky leaves, George tells Amelia that Becky must learn her station. Becky arrives at Queen's Crawley. She will be teaching Rose and Violet Cawley. [5]
2"Miss Sharp Begins to Make Friends"James StrongGwyneth Hughes3 September 2018 (2018-09-03)4.90 [4]
Becky is in Hampshire as governess to Sir Pitt Crawley's neglected daughters. Determined to get into his good books she quickly lands a promotion to secretary. The arrival of Crawley's sister prompts a new plan. [6]
3"A Quarrel About An Heiress"James StrongGwyneth Hughes9 September 2018 (2018-09-09)4.22 [7]
Becky has moved in with Matilda Crawley and seems to have a bright future ahead of her. However, war is brewing which threatens the fortunes of the scheming social climber and everyone she knows. [8]
4"In Which Becky Joins Her Regiment"James StrongGwyneth Hughes16 September 2018 (2018-09-16)4.04 [7]
George refuses to apologise for his marriage to Amelia and his father cuts him off from the family and his inheritance. All the friends leave for Brussels, where Becky makes use of every opportunity to advance in society.
5"In Which Battles Are Won and Lost"James StrongGwyneth Hughes23 September 2018 (2018-09-23)N/A
The Battle of Waterloo gets underway with George in the thick of it. Becky spies an opportunity to profit from the war by selling Rawdon's horses to the cowardly Jos. [9]
6"In Which a Painter's Daughter Meets a King"Jonathan EntwistleGwyneth Hughes30 September 2018 (2018-09-30)2.30 [10]
Becky's time to finally shine arrives as she is introduced to the King, it comes at great cost though. How will her marriage hold up to the new arrangement she has made?
7"Endings and Beginnings"James StrongGwyneth Hughes7 October 2018 (2018-10-07)N/A
Becky is alone and living in greatly reduced circumstances. Dobbin discovers that Amelia plans to remarry, prompting him to finally confess his feelings for her. The Sedleys have an unexpected encounter on holiday.

Production

A cottage on Chevening House Estate, Sevenoaks in Kent featured as Rawdon Crawley's cottage. Squerryes Court, Sevenoaks, was used for the interiors of Miss Pinkerton's school. A scene on the promenade, featuring soldiers and horses, was shot outside the Royal Hotel in Deal, Kent. Further filming took place at Chatham Historic Dockyard, where various London street scenes were shot outside the Ropery, an embarkation to France was shot on Anchor Wharf, and the interior of the Commissioner's House was also used. [11]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack featured a cover of "All Along the Watchtower", by Afterhere.

Critical reception

The series was met with a positive response from critics for its sets and Olivia Cooke's performance. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds a 88% with an average rating of 7.08 out of 10 based on 33 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Olivia Cooke's brilliant portrayal of the feisty and scheming Becky Sharp in Vanity Fair makes this adaptation of Thackeray's classic novel more relatable for a 21st century audience." [12] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [13]

Following the conclusion of the series and on writing about the series's significantly low viewing figures in comparison to the BBC One "ratings juggernaut" Bodyguard , Ben Dowell of the Radio Times praised Cooke's performance, writing that "of all the TV Beckys down the ages – Joyce Redman, Susan Hampshire, Eve Matheson, Natasha Little, not to mention Reese Witherspoon in the 2004 film – Cooke is definitely one of the best we’ve ever had." [10] Newsday 's Verne Gay was more critical of the show, calling it both "faithful and faithless" to the book and concluded that the series "can occasionally feel like a homework assignment." [14]

Matthew Gilbert, writing for The Boston Globe , was more positive, stating that "If you’re a fan of these adaptations...I think you'll find something pleasing in this Vanity Fair — not heroes and heroines stirring about waiting for their happy endings, of course, but something far more scandalous and universal." [15]

References

  1. Tartaglione, Nancy (25 September 2017). "'Vanity Fair': Suranne Jones, Michael Palin Join Olivia Cooke In ITV/Amazon Drama". Deadline . Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  2. Bley Griffiths, Eleanor (2 September 2018). "Meet the cast of Vanity Fair". The Radio Times . Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  3. "Four-screen dashboard | BARB". www.barb.co.uk.
  4. 1 2 "Four-screen dashboard - BARB". www.barb.co.uk.
  5. "Miss Sharp In The Presence Of The Enemy". IMDb.com. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  6. "Miss Sharp Begins To Make Friends". IMDb.com. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  7. 1 2 "Weekly top 30 programmes - BARB". www.barb.co.uk.
  8. "A Quarrel about an Heiress". IMDb.com. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  9. "In Which Battles Are Won and Lost" via www.imdb.com.
  10. 1 2 "Vanity Fair series finale review: Becky gets her just desserts as this underwatched classic ends in style". Radio Times.
  11. "Vanity Fair (2018)". Kent Film Office . 7 September 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  12. "Vanity Fair: Miniseries". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  13. "Vanity Fair (2018) Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  14. Gay, Verne (20 December 2018). "'Vanity Fair' review: Mirthless, melodramatic version of Thackeray's classic". Newsday . Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  15. Gilbert, Matthew (19 December 2018). "Sit back and enjoy the deceits of 'Vanity Fair'". The Boston Globe . Retrieved 26 December 2018.