A Russian newspaper? A Madrid art gallery?

Rating: 7/10 (30 April 2009)

I am probably not the right demographic for "The Devil Wears Prada". I have little knowledge of the fashion industry, and even less interest in it. Apart from one or two obvious big names like Versace and Christian Dior, about the only fashion designer I could name would be Karen Millen, and then only because she comes from the same town as me. Until I saw the film recently I didn't even know what the word "Prada" meant. (A Russian newspaper? A Madrid art gallery?) In fact, it is an Italian fashion house whose products are, apparently, endorsed by the Prince of Darkness himself. (Is the title a piece of product placement on behalf of both Prada and the Church of Satan?) The main character is Andrea Sachs, a young college graduate with ambitions to become a journalist. Although she is about as knowledgeable about fashion as I am, the only job she can find is as junior personal assistant to Miranda Priestly, the editor of a prestigious and influential New York fashion magazine. (Andrea would much rather work as an investigative journalist, preferably for a publication with a left-wing bias. More Pravda than Prada). At first, she fits in poorly; she is not just ignorant about fashion but is positively contemptuous of the fashion industry, which she sees as snobbish, trivial and irrelevant. She is generally referred to by the normally masculine diminutive "Andy", which might suggest that she is not a girl who places a high premium on femininity. The rest of the magazine staff, especially Miranda's British senior assistant Emily, mock her on account of her plain, unfashionable dress style. Miranda herself, an icy snob, constantly humiliates her and orders her to perform menial tasks such as fetching her coffee. (Apparently the budget of "Runway" magazine does not stretch to a kettle; in another piece of product placement we see Andrea going out to buy coffee from Starbucks).
Gradually, however, Andrea comes to terms with her new job, especially as it brings with it many perks, including free designer clothing and foreign travel. She begins to dress more stylishly and do her job competently, winning grudging praise even from the formidable Miranda, especially after she succeeds in fulfilling Miranda's seemingly impossible (and probably illegal) request to obtain a copy of an unpublished "Harry Potter" manuscript. (Miranda's young daughters are great "Harry Potter" fans). A crisis comes, however, when Andrea's relationship with her boyfriend Nate begins to suffer because of the long hours she has to devote to her work. The two eventually split up after an argument in which Nate accuses her of becoming the thing she once despised.
This film has some similarities with the Gwyneth Paltrow vehicle, "View from the Top", another film about a young woman who, after initial setbacks, achieves success in her job, but then finds that she needs to choose between her job and her boyfriend. In both cases the message seems to be that success in one's love life is more important than success in one's career. It is notable that the bitchy Miranda takes quite the opposite view- she can alienate husbands just as easily as she alienates members of her staff, and is currently going through her fifth divorce.
"The Devil Wears Prada" could easily have ended up as no more than a glossier version of "View from the Top", which is a fairly mediocre comedy. What saves it is some excellent acting. In the earlier film, Paltrow just seems to be going through the motions; in one interview she herself implied that she only took the part for the money. Whereas Paltrow's Donna was simply a go-getting career girl, Andrea is a more complex character, well acted by the lovely Anne Hathaway as a wide-eyed, innocent idealist who finds her idealism under threat from the subtle temptations placed in her way by a woman who has (metaphorically if not literally) sold her soul to the devil.
Hathaway receives good support from Emily Blunt as the catty Emily and Stanley Tucci as Nigel, the magazine's kindly Art Director, one of Andrea's few colleagues to offer her support. (Despite Nigel's obvious effeminacy, it is never made clear whether he is actually gay- a surprising stance given Hollywood's normal liberalism on this subject). The real star, however, is Meryl Streep. I have never been an adherent of that school of thought which holds that Meryl cannot do comedy, as I liked her in "Death Becomes Her" and even "She-Devil", a film for which few critics had kind words, even if it did bring her a Golden Globe nomination. "The Devil Wears Prada", however, provides her with her best comedy role. The monstrous Miranda Priestly- silver-haired, immaculately dressed, snobbish, supercilious and icily self-possessed- is a magnificent comic creation. Her surname suggests that she is a sort of high priestess of the fashion industry, and she revels in her power, knowing that an unfavourable mention in her magazine can destroy the career of a designer. She always speaks softly, never raising her voice, because she knows that she can inspire fear with just a whisper. Streep's performance brought her a record 14th Oscar nomination, although she lost yet again, this time to Helen Mirren for "The Queen".
It is something of a convention that monstrous characters in comedies should be revealed to have a vulnerable or human side. Here, however, that convention is played with and subverted. We think we have discovered Miranda's vulnerability when she seems to be in danger of losing her position to a rival whom she detests. And then, suddenly, we see that Miranda has been in charge all along and is able to see off the threat with a characteristic piece of double-dealing. It is a great moment and one that Streep makes the most of. Despite my lack of interest in its subject matter, this was a comedy I enjoyed. 7/10