“The Devil Wears Prada” Hits the Screens
Andy, a provincial girl with dreams of becoming a journalist, arrives in New York City. She sets her sights on landing a job at “Runway,” the most prestigious glossy magazine and a trendsetter in the fashion world. Andy, with her unassuming student attire, immediately signals a Cinderella-esque transformation. As expected, she undergoes a stunning makeover, becoming a sought-after guest in high society. This newfound status puts her past love to the test – her simple, jeans-wearing boyfriend now seems out of place, causing him considerable pain. Eventually, after experiencing the “sweet life” and realizing its devilish undertones, Andy returns to reality, a predictable yet satisfying conclusion.
But why watch if the plot is so predictable?
The Meryl Streep Factor
The answer lies in Meryl Streep. This actress is consistently brilliant, seemingly without effort. Her portrayal of the fashion magazine editor is a stroke of genius, a seemingly minor role that transforms into a series of miniature masterpieces. Every movement of her little finger is memorable.
Her Miranda Priestly is the queen of fashion, demanding diverse elegance. (The dress Meryl Streep wears in the charity ball scene was designed by the famous couturier Valentino, who also makes a cameo appearance). She is also the perfect “businesswoman,” an iron lady, a fanatic, entirely dedicated to her work. She built this fashion empire – a magazine whose very name sends shivers down the spines of New York’s best fashion houses. She is an arbiter of taste and trends, and she cherishes this reputation. For her, fashion is paramount; nothing else in the world matters as much.
Therefore, she judges people first by the quality of their hairstyle and, after a glance at their shoes, delivers a final and unequivocal verdict.
She is impeccable and demands the same from her assistants, among whom Andy, in her worn-out shoes, manages to squeeze in. It’s captivating to watch the elegant nonchalance with which she throws her coats, cloaks, capes, and umbrellas onto Andy’s desk as she passes by. Such perfection demands sacrifices, and Miranda will stop at nothing to ensure obedience. Her every whim automatically becomes law, and her mood swings dictate the global climate.
The Clash of Titans
This is the formidable persona that Andy must tame. Andy is also a maximalist, believing that nothing should be impossible when pursuing a career. This competitive spirit is part of the great American dream, which has turned many workaholics into heroes and the foundation of the nation. Thus, an irresistible force meets an immovable object, and a battle ensues: who will prevail? The relationship between these two women forms the core of the film’s plot, with everything else serving as a picturesque garnish.
Anne Hathaway (“Brokeback Mountain” (2005)) is charming as Andy – effective, sexy, and dazzling. These adjectives don’t quite capture Meryl Streep. She is that rare actress who can find an abyss of fleeting humor in any material, and within that humor, something deeper and more dramatic. She doesn’t need to contort her face or raise a significant finger to reveal this to the audience. It feels as though she simply lives on screen, and we glean something layered and essential for understanding the world and ourselves from that life.
The actress embodies all the qualities inherent in a woman, using them playfully, like a virtuoso pianist on the keys. The duel between Miranda and Andy is fascinating in its details: a glance, a thrown word, an assessment, a reaction, a barely perceptible shrug – and so on. While Andy is simple and understandable, Miranda reveals a whole life: years of clawing her way to a prestigious position, a constant watchdog guarding her own destiny against age, competitors, and inevitable intrigues. She inevitably involves the new Andy in these intrigues, sometimes imperceptibly to the bakers themselves – such is the glossy world and its laws. Andy constantly finds herself in situations of difficult moral choices, often already made for her. Until she rebels and, having learned an important lesson, closes this chapter of her life to move on to the next.
However, the film doesn’t burden itself with judging anyone; it doesn’t even divide its characters into “good” and “bad.” It simply shows the “sweet life” as it is. It’s an unpretentious sketch of manners that could very well earn Meryl Streep her next, third “Oscar.”
The film’s episodic characters are colorful, “deliciously” played, and will evoke associations with specific individuals among connoisseurs of the fashion scene. The film itself is extremely uneven, swinging from passionate burlesque to didactic melodrama, and fading weakly towards the end.
From the Horse’s Mouth: Meryl Streep: I Modeled Miranda on Men
“In Lauren Weisberger’s novel, Miranda’s character is based on ‘Vogue’ editor Anna Wintour, but, to tell you the truth, my prototypes were mostly men,” Meryl Streep said after the film’s premiere at the Venice Film Festival. "Probably because I’ve rarely encountered women in power. However, compared to the prototypes, my Miranda is simply an angel of diplomacy. But she rules over fashion, shapes its trends. I can’t say that after filming this movie, I began to better understand these trends or follow fashion knowledgeably, but at least I became better at understanding marketing. Our costume designer, Pat Field, made very expensive outfits for the film – one handbag alone cost something like $12,000, which is simply incomprehensible to me. And when you see many handbags at about that price, a $4,000 bag will seem like an insignificant trifle. And this is a complete revolution in consciousness – some kind of madness. To fit all this luxury into the film’s budget, Pat wriggled out as best she could: she used her connections and acquaintances with fashion designers, looked among archival items. ‘Archival’ in the world of fashion is synonymous with ‘used.’ As a result, my Miranda turned out to be the owner of something like sixty costumes, and accessories – belts, shoes, earrings – were carefully selected for each one.
All of this turned out to be very instructive for me."