DVD Reviews

Bright Young Things

Stephen Fry starts off Bright Young Things with a lavish party. There are many more parties in the middle and near the end as well, so many in fact that the central figure of the story, Adam Fenwick-Symes (Stephen Campbell Moore) becomes shell-shocked by the exuberant lifestyle he and his friends are leading. Fry’s film studies the frantic, youthful world of 1930s England with an energetic and dizzying style.

The main plot revolves around Adam attempting to find enough money to marry Nina (Emily Mortimer). Every financially prosperous situation he finds goes sour; however, and Nina eventually starts looking at other prospects. Although this plot drives the film, Fry is much more interested in the wildly eccentric characters that populate this society. For the first hour this journey is fascinating and darkly funny, allowing its many side characters the chance to make scathing, yet incredibly superficial observations on their world. Yet, things take a decidedly darker path in the second half, and although I appreciated what the movie was saying, the abrupt change in tone is far too jarring. The characters begin to pay for their way of life and suddenly the audience is asked to care about them. Unfortunately, they are all obnoxious self-centered socialites who intentionally try to shield people from finding out who they really are. It is hard to feel sympathy for these people. This emotional detachment would be fine if the second half maintained the film’s satirical edge, but the movie slowly begins to take itself seriously. Bright Young Things is filled with brilliant moments and has a lot to say, but tries to say it in too many different ways.

The new DVD from MGM is a very nice set. The video transfer is very well done, nicely conveying Henry Braham’s marvelous cinematography (love those theme parties). The audio is also great allowing the home video audience to feel like they have just stepped into the wild English nightlife. To top it all off, the DVD contains a small, but very nice set of extras. The commentary with Stephen Fry is informative and fun. He provides a lot of nice insights into the time period. A short feature on him as a first time director is somewhat disappointing. While I’m sure Stephen Fry is a very nice man, it becomes kind of redundant to hear everyone involved in the production saying how wonderful he is. Much better is a documentary on Bright Young Things directed by the set runner, and from his point of view, entitled From the Bottom Up. It’s a refreshing take on behind the scenes documentaries and it provides some nice insights into what the lesser-known jobs are all about.

Review By Corey Brown