Review : The Devil Wears Prada

The Devil Wears Prada : In New York, the simple and naive just-graduated in journalism Andrea Sachs is hired to work as the second assistant of the powerful and sophisticated Miranda Priestly, the ruthless and merciless executive of the Runway fashion magazine. 

This film is very much aimed towards that of a female audience, it's more of a girls things from the way it's advertised, in the way its presented and the overall feel of it is not something which would typically appeal to being a mens thing, but it doesn't mean to say that men can't like it. It's a film about Comedy, Drama and Romance all meshed into roughly what is 1 hour and 44 minutes of screen time.

The films opening scene is very captivating in the way in both that it is filmed and the way an ordinary average viewer would see it it. The intention of wanting to satisfy the viewer into a relaxed state so that they come into this quickly and comfortably, in terms of the way I view it I was quite curious in starting this film because I didn't know what to expect from it as you do with any uncertainty. I didn't hate it, was my final reaction to it and I enjoyed it to an extent but it just wasn't really for my liking.

I haven't read the book, so my knowledge is a bit hazy. Those who probably have read the book might get a better or more observational means of viewing film because they know the background of it a bit better. I didn't like the film because it featured cruel judgments about body size and fashion and the characters are materialistic and catty, however the acting was very good indeed. I mean Meryl Streep, I defy anyone to point out a second in her performance that isn't truthful - a cold hearted bitch.  

To give it credit, I suppose a contributing factor to it is the fact that the film does have lots of mentions of high-end fashion brands. However for younger viewers I highly doubt that they'll be interested, since the subject matter won't mean anything to them, the film is rated a 12. Therefore viewers of a teenage generation are permitted to view this and get an all round perspective, to argue that this film is primarily based around an adult audience and nothing else is just not true.

Sometimes over-the-top and sometimes sentimental, Prada is most notable for Meryl Streep's remarkably subtle performance as super-diva Miranda Priestly. 

While the film loves its costumes and montages, the plot is creaky and the story isn't all that great and targets far too easy: Everyone knows the world of haute couture is cutthroat, imperious, and lurid. So what? tell us something we don't know.

I thought the play off between Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway was interesting because Streep's character is complex and compelling where as Anne Hathaway is nothing like that at all, so I was quite curios to follow that premise and watching these two main roles play off each other and seeing where it was going to end up.

To be honest, I just don't think there was enough dealt with in the running time to last a feature film, though the content and attention to detail was impressive and it was about fashion and the costumes and the artistry looked impressive it wasn't enough for me, I wanted more from it and it didn't deliver. I felt it lacked a bit the books main premise, just something brief and that's it. I haven't read the book so I can't confirm this to be true. What I can confirm to be true is that this film isn't anything all that great. 6/10!

Next Review : Hummingbird.