She goes to his flat for tea. She's a woman in search of a rich provider she can stand but a woman who, in her own words, always seems to do the right thing at the wrong time. There's a violence in this Belle Epoque that even a Soprano could savor, but it's of the drawing-room whispered variety. Like C.P. Snow's university dons, these Manhattan elite have long knives. Behavior is codified and caste strictly enforced.
Money is the only thing that really matters.
No wonder Ms. Wharton moved to Paris. As high-spirited Lily, who flouts society's conventions but can't bring herself to play its deadly games, Ms. Anderson delivers the wonderfully wicked wordplay with precision. It's a complex role to assay. Lily isn't warm and fuzzy. As a woman, who needs a wealthy husband but declines to be bored to death, the actress uses facial innuendo as well as clipped speech.