The Devil Wears Prada is a perfect feel-good film. When you feel that you need to watch something to lift your spirits, this is usually on everyone’s list, and for good reason. From a stellar cast (Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci) to the plot itself, this is a movie that has impacted an entire generation of cinephiles. David Frankel gives the audience an inside look of both New York in the mid 2000’s, as well as the fashion industry, how glamorous and demanding it can be. It shows how the American job system works, where one has to over exhaust themselves to achieve their goals, especially in New York City.
Movie Information:
Genre:
Comedy / Drama
Main Cast:
Meryl Streep
Anne Hathaway
Emily Blunt
Stanley Tucci
Simon Baker
Adrian Grenier
Distributed By:
20th Century Fox
Duration:
1 hour and 49 minutes
Movie Rating:
7.5/10
Plot:
Andy is an aspiring journalist that lives in New York with her boyfriend, Nate. Although knowing very little about fashion she lands a job at Runway magazine as a junior personal assistant. Her new boss, editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly, is both well-known and feared in the fashion industry. Hoping that she will get Miranda’s recommendation by working for a year in Runway, Andy puts up with her demanding and passive-aggressive behavior. Andy eventually manages to thrive in such a lavish and anxiety-inducing environment and even gets respected by her snobby co-worker, Emily. However, at some point Andy’s life starts to revolve only around her work. As a result, her social life is deeply affected and she is slowly seeing an important change in her personality and personal values.
Directing and Writing:
From the get-go this movie starts with a montage of young working women getting ready for their day. They are seen putting on a variety of clothes, all of which are in different styles. It is clear that the plot is going to be about one thing: fashion. However, David Frankel put more in this movie than just clothes and accessories. The central theme is about the dangers of workaholism, and how high work demands can lead to the inevitable change of our personality. Andy is deeply influenced by this situation, since she is seen as a completely different character in comparison with beginning of the film, even though she denies it.
The Devil Wears Prada is popular for a plethora of reasons. The music score gives a 90’s and early 2000’s nostalgic feel. The costumes are breathtaking and noteworthy, the settings as well. We get to see a juxtaposition of New York City residents, the glamorous fashion titans and the everyday people who try to work jobs they either struggle at or they are not truly in love with. A combination of all these factors is why the movie is so loved and respected.
Characters:
The characters of The Devil Wears Prada are probably some of the most well-known in the 2000’s era. Miranda Priestly is the personification of the hard-working American boss. She is ruthless, demanding, and yet we get to see an unexpected humane side in her. Her entire life is devoted to Runway, and yet she cares for her daughters. She could possibly be seen as a villain, but even Andy realizes that she cannot describe Miranda in absolutes. She isn’t bad. She is a business woman. And when it comes to business, you sometimes have to be unsympathetic.
Andy on the other hand started as the complete opposite of Miranda. She cares very little about fashion, but she is smart and gets the job done. It is for this reason that Miranda hires her. She sees herself in Andy, much to the latter’s horror. In her quest to achieve her dreams as a journalist, Andy slowly loses herself in the fashion industry, becoming more and more like Miranda and Emily. It is only after a series of shocks that she realizes that she cannot let herself become someone who hurts everyone around them to become successful.
What truly steals the attention of the viewer is not only the combination of the beautiful sets, costumes and general aesthetic. This honor goes to the now-iconic acting of Meryl Streep, and the relatability of Anne Hathaway’s role. Miranda said at one point in the film that “Everybody wants to be us”. In this case, I doubt that viewers want to be like the characters, but they definitely want to see more of them.
“What are you willing to do to achieve your dreams?” This is what the movie asks of us. Are we willing to completely implode our personal lives? Are we willing to hurt the ones around us to get ahead? These are the questions that Andy has to face, and the viewer is called to live the experience with her. It is only at the end that the movie answers this question. One needs to takes risks. Andy took a risk by applying for Runway, and she also took a risk at the end, both of which eventually paid off.
Overall, The Devil Wears Prada is a movie that focuses on more things than some people realize. It is by all accounts a solid and well-liked film. However, I feel it must be said that the directing itself doesn’t actually stand out. If anything, the film seems as if it is carried by the actors alone in some instances. But it is true, that David Frankel deserves a lot of credit for making a production that people are still talking about 18 years later.
Written by Demetris Bougiouris