The House of Mirth

Gillian Anderson delivers one of the finest performances of her career in Terence Davies’s searing and visually intoxicating adaptation of Edith Wharton’s era-defining novel. Lily Bart is a bright and popular socialite with a weakness for luxury and gambling. She subsists on a small allowance from her wealthy aunt, but needs to attract a lucrative marital match to keep her in the manner and comfort to which she is accustomed. However, her desire to enjoy all that life has to offer threatens her future.

“With The House of Mirth Davies stepped away from the deeply personal and semi-autobiographical themes of his early work. Drawing on a range of painterly influences, from Whistler to Vermeer, and charting the tragic fall of his increasingly isolated heroine with customary intimacy, Davies proves himself a master of period filmmaking and literary adaptation, while eliciting a stunning performance from Anderson and a roundly excellent ensemble cast.”

Ben Roberts, BFI