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Seattle Times
House of Mirth, The (2000)
3.5 (out of 4) stars
By Misha Berson
Seattle Times theater critic
Published: Jan. 19, 2001

When Gillian Anderson and Eric Stoltz share a cigarette and a private chat in "The House of Mirth," it is no small matter.

The year is 1905. The milieu: upper-class New York. And Anderson's charming, admired but unmarried Lily Bart risks much by visiting the bachelor digs of Stoltz's Lawrence Selden - even innocently, and in broad daylight.

The incident returns to haunt Lily, the complex protagonist of the splendid Emily Wharton novel that Terence Davies has adapted into a literate, affecting new film.

For in the moneyed Old New York circles Lily frequents, unwed women of modest means are very vulnerable to scandal, or worse. Especially those as bold but principled as Lily - who hopes to marry well, but lacks the cunning for it.

Though beautifully designed and shot (in Edinburgh), with all the correct period bric-a-brac and attire, "The House of Mirth" is no cinematic Victorian tea party.

Davies details the fickle brutality of the "friendships" Lily depends on - i.e., her mercurial bond with the rich, narcissistic, double-crossing, queen bee Bertha Dorset (chilling Laura Linney). And her dealings with wealthy Gus Trenor (gruff Dan Aykroyd), who expects extramarital affection after prying her out of a financial jam.

Wharton's vivid, unsparing book brilliantly details how Lily's tumble from eligible young thing, to penniless cast-off, is a product of both a callous, hypocritical milieu, and Lily's own refusal to seek a more authentic existence.

Davies, however, frames her mainly as a victim of external social forces, and of the diffidence of Selden (whom she truly loves). Nor does the film show how Lily's appetite for luxury - that pervasive "wannabe" streak in American culture - aids in her downfall.

So, it's not perfect. Nor is Anderson ideally cast, though her performance is accomplished and ultimately moving nonetheless. In any case, this is a fine film that largely respects the literary classic it springs from - and makes you want to read it, or re-read it.

THE END

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