History Film / EasyVirtue

* LikesOlderWomen: John towards Larita. They like to tease each other about the [[AgeGapRomance age difference]]; he jokingly refers to her as "grandma."

''Easy Virtue'' was originally a play by Creator/NoelCoward, but has been adapted twice; first as a silent film in 1928, directed by Creator/AlfredHitchcock, and again in 2008, directed by Stephan Elliot. The 2008 version is the best known, and starred Creator/JessicaBiel, Ben Barnes, Colin Firth, and Kristin Scott Thomas.

* WomanInWhite: Larita wears a lot of white, in contrast to the greys and browns worn by the Whittaker and Hurst families and the black worn by Jim. The most notable examples are the white dress she wears during the tango scene and the white blouse and jacket she wears while [[spoiler: dealing with the fallout of Hilda's prying.]] Both indicate [[spoiler: the fragility of her mental state]] but the white tango dress also indicates [[spoiler: a new beginning for her and Jim.]]

* AlcoholicParent: Jim is rarely seen without a scotch in his hand.

* LikesOlderWomen: John towards Larita. They like to tease eachother about the [[AgeGapRomance age difference]]; he jokingly refers to her as "grandma."

* DanceOfRomance: John and Larita are seen having one during the opening credits. There's also the tango at the Christmas party. [[spoiler:Larita was trying to engineer one with John to repair their relationship, but when he turned her down Jim danced with her instead, and it ended up being a DanceOfRomance for ''them.'']]

* OldMaid: Larita. She and John like to tease eachother about the age difference; he jokingly refers to her as "grandma."

->'''Larita:''' Oh Johnny, dear, you know how much I love you, so please try to take this in the best possible light: I'm getting a machine gun and mowing down your entire family.

* BettyAndVeronica: To the audience, Larita is the Betty and Sarah Hurst is the Veronica; to the other characters, Sarah is the Betty and Larita is the Veronica. Subverted as, rather than competing, they actually form a very good friendship, and Sarah becomes one of Larita's closest allies and staunchest defenders within the house. [[spoiler:Larita entrusts John to Sarah's care when she runs away with Jim.]] There's also a straight version, with John (Betty) and Phillip Hurst (Veronica) towards Larita. She married John before the story started, but it doesn't stop Phillip from trying.[[spoiler:Neither of them get the girl.]]

* BigScrewedUpFamily

* IronLady: Veronica, again.

* TheSnarkKnight: Jim, in grand style.

* UnkemptBeauty: Colin Firth's character, which comes as quite a shock [[Literature/PrideAndPrejudice considering]] [[Film/LoveActually his]] [[Theatre/MammaMia previous]] [[Literature/BridgetJones roles.]]

** There's another one delivered by Larita to Veronica.

* TwentiesBobHaircut: Both Sarah and Larita rock it Clara Bow style at various points.

* MsFanservice: Larita / Creator/JessicaBiel: She's as beautiful as ever and the filmmakers certainly don't downplay her extremely alluring derriere.

* DeadPetSketch: Larita accidentally [[spoiler: takes out the family dog by sitting on him with her impressive rear end.]] Since she is played by the pneumatic Jessica Biel, [[spoiler: the poor lap dog never stood a chance!]]

* DeadPetSketch: Larita accidentally [[spoiler: takes out the family dog with her impressive rear end.]] Since she is played by Jessica Biel, [[spoiler: the poor lap dog never had a chance!]]

* UnkemptBeauty: Colin Firth's character, which comes as quite a shock [[Literature/PrideAndPrejudice considering]] [[Film/LoveActually his]] [[Theatre/MammaMia previous]] [[Literature/BridgetJones roles.]] [[FetishFuel Not that anyone's complaining...]]

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: When Larita joins in the fox hunt.

Not long after UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne, the Whittaker family awaits the return of their only son John from the continent. To their dismay, he brings a bride; a glamourous American racecar driver. The bride, Larita, thinks she and John will visit and then move to London, where he'll work and she'll race. But John is the heir to the estate, and his mother, Veronica, is nothing if not a master manipulator. Soon it's all-out war between mother and bride. John's father, Major Jim Whittaker, finds himself in the bride's corner, along with the family servants; John's sisters, Hilda and Marion, side firmly with their mother, while their neighbours, the wealthy Hurst family, look on.

* UnkemptBeauty: Colin Firth's character, which comes as quite a shock [[Literature/PrideAndPrejudice considering]] [[LoveActually his]] [[Theatre/MammaMia previous]] [[Literature/BridgetJones roles.]] [[FetishFuel Not that anyone's complaining...]]

* ThroughHisStomach: Deliberately invoked by Larita, who launches a counter-attack against Veronica's machinations by taking over the kitchen and serving the family a Thanksgiving dinner.
-->'''Larita:''' Here's a tip, Hilda. A sure way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Or his mother.

-->'''Veronica:''' And you can get that ghastly painting out of my house. We do ''not'' need any more reminders of your easy virtue!
* TwentiesBobHaircut: Both Sarah and Larita rock it Clara Bow style at various points.
* UnkemptBeauty: Colin Firth's character, which comes as quite a shock [[PrideAndPrejudice considering]] [[LoveActually his]] [[Film/MammaMia previous]] [[Literature/BridgetJones roles.]] [[FetishFuel Not that anyone's complaining ...]]
* UpperClassTwit: Played straight with Hilda, who is an utter ditz; subverted with Marion, [[spoiler:who is very aware that their family is rapidly running out of money.]]
* VagueAge: Larita's age is deliberately obscured; all we know is that she's been married (and widowed) previously, and that she met John several years after these events; John is a great deal younger than her. Jessica Biel and Ben Barnes are the same age, further confusing the issue. [[note]]The only giveaway, aside from implications in the dialogue, is the subtle emphasis of crows feet around Larita's eyes. These appear only in scenes where she is without makeup or is feeling emotionally fragile, and are especially noticeable in facial closeups during the tango scene.[[/note]]
* WhatTheHellHero: ''Phillip'' of all people delivers one to [[spoiler:Hilda, after she utterly destroys Larita by making her first husband's suicide public knowledge.]]
-->[[spoiler: '''Hilda:''' You've got me all to yourself. Larita's upstairs with a headache.]]
-->[[spoiler: '''Phillip:''' And which little fool gave her that?]]

* UnkemptBeauty: Colin Firth's character, which comes as quite a shock [[PrideAndPrejudice considering]] [[LoveActually his]] [[MammaMia previous]] [[Literature/BridgetJones roles.]] [[FetishFuel Not that anyone's complaining ...]]

-->'''Larita:''' Oh Johnny, dear, you know how much I love you, so please try to take this in the best possible light: I'm getting a machine gun and mowing down your entire family.

* [[spoiler: DrivenToSuicide: Larita's first husband had terminal cancer, and chose to kill himself rather than die slowly and painfully. Larita was charged with his murder and acquitted. This revelation is a huge scandal to the Whittakers; it gets worse when she later reveals she did kill him, at his request, because he was too feeble to do it himself.]]

* [[spoiler: LoveFatherLoveSon: Reversed. Larita starts out married to John, and ends up running away with his father, Jim.]]

* WomanInWhite: Larita wears a lot of white, in contrast to the greys and browns worn by the Whittaker and Hurst families and the black worn by Jim. The most notable examples are the white dress she wears during the tango scene and the white blouse and jacket she wears while [[spoiler: dealing with the fallout of Hilda's prying.]] Both indicate [[spoiler: the fragility of her mental state]] but the white tango dress also indicates [[spoiler: a new beginning for her and Jim.]]

Not long after WorldWarOne, the Whittaker family awaits the return of their only son John from the continent. To their dismay, he brings a bride; a glamourous American racecar driver. The bride, Larita, thinks she and John will visit and then move to London, where he'll work and she'll race. But John is the heir to the estate, and his mother, Veronica, is nothing if not a master manipulator. Soon it's all-out war between mother and bride. John's father, Major Jim Whittaker, finds himself in the bride's corner, along with the family servants; John's sisters, Hilda and Marion, side firmly with their mother, while their neighbours, the wealthy Hurst family, look on.