"she's a notorious sadist..but not in a good way...."

Rating: 10/10 (1 February 2007)

I thoroughly applaud THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA for several reasons:
1) it had what i consider to be a brilliant screenplay with amazing dialogue. 2) MERYL STREEP. nothing more needs to be said here. 3) Emily Blunt. she really did look like she was full of virii, and yet a sympathetic character. 4) Stanley Tucci. He grew on me. What a sweet heart. Like a bitchy version of Hector Elizondo from Pretty Woman.
i dare to say that the models in those astounding clothes made America's Next Top Model seem like try-outs for Walmart. Kinda cruel to say, but there it is. Is there any role that the divine Streep cannot do with complete credibility? In this shallow, superficial world of "fashion", she manages to give a complex and many-layered performance which leaves me without adequate words to describe. Anne Hathaway's character loses her way for a time, and loses herself, although she looked beautiful on the outside in those fabulous clothes. She plays her usual sweet self, which was fine; but i preferred her cold turn in BBM. The people she worked with were twisted and yet very human. And yes; she had a choice. Ultimately, she chooses her own path. The one detail i didn't find convincing was her partnership with Adrian Grenier, who looked like he was trying out for lead actor in a prehistoric film about early man. I didn't buy them as a couple. THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA captured my interest and held it through out right to the end. Yes; it is a ruthless and completely shallow world, but it is peopled with very real humans who have chosen to go along. I've seen these kinds of endings before; but nothing is truly original...except perhaps the absolutely divine Meryl Streep. I watched this film twice, the first time at Waterton Parks, a beautiful place where the highlight was watching this film in it's small theatre amongst the breath taking surrounds. If anyone can upset the brilliant performance by Helen Mirren, it's Meryl. It's not going to happen, but it wouldn't bother me at all if she did. The DVD version had some technical problems with the sound. But it didn't detract from Streep. Not one bit. A stunning performance by one of the best actors of our generation.