vanity fair | what to watch?

Vanity Fair | ITV1 | Sundays at 9pm

Following the story of Becky Sharp and her unhealthy obsession for wealth, we find ourselves in nineteenth century England, during the period leading up to and during the Napoleonic Wars. This series is derived from a popular novel written in 1848 by William Makepeace Thackeray, though not one I have read myself- terrible English graduate, I know. Vanity Fair is not your usual Sunday night period drama, which has made for very mixed reviews. A whole cohort of Twitter users can be seen to complain about the use of modern music being played over the end credits every Sunday night, they particularly didn't enjoy Madonna's "Material Girl", even though it fits the narrative perfectly.

Despite this, the show echoes Thackeray's satire fantastically, proving that human greed for wealth and ability to move up the social ranks has not diminished as much as we would like to think. ITV's Vanity Fair is acclaimed to be a modern interpretation of the novel, which is something I feel a lot of it's viewers are forgetting, however, now on episode five, people are starting to truly gain a grasp on this and appreciate the series for what it is. It is not about how accurate the costumes or setting are for the period, or how believable the characters are, it is simply an ongoing mockery of society and it's ridiculousness. 

This series makes for great light TV viewing, and good for watching with a cup of tea on a Sunday night (although definitely on +1 at 10pm so that you don't miss BBC's Bodyguard). Becky Sharp enamours you with her charm, as she does her multiple suitors, and despite her greed and selfishness, you can't help but root for her. She remains a complex characters throughout, keeping her emotions hidden, although I believe she did genuinely succumb to Rawdon Crawley's charm and love for her. A mischievous character who uses and disregards others to climb the social ranks and gain wealth, yet she must be admired for her intelligence and her plotting that gets her to where she wants to be, particularly as a woman in the nineteenth century. 

So far I have experienced every emotion watching Vanity Fair, from crying at the scenes when the men got called to War, to laughing at the ridiculousness and desperation of Becky's suitors, but mostly just anger towards Becky's dissatisfaction of her marriage to Rawdon and that finding genuine love is not enough to break her quest for wealth. Oh and also anger at Amelia being completely blind that Dobbin is in love with her and would treat her a thousand times better than George ever could. 

All I would say before starting this series is to go into it with an open mind, and definitely don't expect it to follow the same pattern of a typical period drama such as the likes of Victoria or Downtown Abbey. ITV are doing something different here, which deserves acknowledgement and it's own category without comparisons being made. Vanity Fair is stand alone, and I highly recommend watching for it’s fanciful characters and witty story-telling.