The Devil Wears Prada

USA, 2006. Directed by David Frankel. Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci, Simon Baker, Adrian Grenier, Tracie Thorns, Rich Sommer, Daniel Sunjata.

Naïve Andrea (Hathaway), a graduate in journalism, takes a job as the second assistant to Miranda Priestly (Streep), the powerful and ruthless editor-in-chief of Runway magazine, a sort of fictional version of Vogue and the bible of the fashion industry. Ignorant of the fashion world and its movers and shakers, Andrea tells herself it’s a temporary position to allow her to gain experience until she can move on to a more creative role as a journalist. But Miranda is a monster, extremely demanding of her staff and cruel to them when they fall short of her expectations. Andrea finds support from the magazine’s chief stylist Nigel (Tucci) and with his help gradually finds herself rising to the challenges of working for Miranda, to the extent that her relationship with her live-in boyfriend is threatened as she adapts to her new surroundings. Central to the film’s success is yet another powerhouse performance from Streep, who skillfully conveys her character’s vulnerability beneath the bitchy exterior without overplaying it for pathos. So we get to understand her a bit, without necessarily changing our feelings about her. Stanley Tucci also delights in a supporting role which is nicely understated – he’s one of the best actors around right now. And Emily Blunt’s first assistant is nicely portrayed. The film itself was somewhat predictable, though sharply observed and suitably glossy and slick in its presentation. The satire I found amusing without it being engrossing – the film’s strength is in the excellent performances of its leading actors, and these are enough to make it an entertaining couple of hours.