Fry, fascinated by desperate decadence, naturally alights on Waugh's Vile Bodies, an apparently double-edged.
Unfortunately Fry lacks Waugh's gift for laconic and strongly felt characterisation and indulges in some somewhat leaden and obvious elucidation of character, revealing characters of limited sympathy that one cannot find the energy to care about.
Fry's years of skit-writing shine through, however, and some scenes are object lessons in how to simultaneously amuse and move plot along. Unfortunately it doesn't add up to a film of great depth or consequence.
The ending is somewhat double-edged, being either an ironic happy ending of contemptible characters or a triumph of love redeemed by hardship. Either way it fails to satisfy, the ironic ending revealing a lack of interest in the characters' fortunes, or too many loose plot ends that are brushed over to make it "work".
Unfortunately Fry lacks Waugh's gift for laconic and strongly felt characterisation and indulges in some somewhat leaden and obvious elucidation of character, revealing characters of limited sympathy that one cannot find the energy to care about.
Fry's years of skit-writing shine through, however, and some scenes are object lessons in how to simultaneously amuse and move plot along. Unfortunately it doesn't add up to a film of great depth or consequence.
The ending is somewhat double-edged, being either an ironic happy ending of contemptible characters or a triumph of love redeemed by hardship. Either way it fails to satisfy, the ironic ending revealing a lack of interest in the characters' fortunes, or too many loose plot ends that are brushed over to make it "work".
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