Reworking a classic play on screen, let alone one by the legendary Noel Coward, would seem a daunting task for any filmmaker.
Director Stephan Elliott did it all the same, transforming Coward’s 1924 play “Easy Virtue” into a forward-thinking romp starring Jessica Biel.
But Coward, who was in his early 20s when he wrote “Virtue,” likely wouldn’t mind the tweaks Elliott and co-screenwriter Sheridan Jobbins added to the text.
“He said he didn’t want his work to be museum pieces. That was my license,” Elliott told WWTW.
“Easy Virtue” stars Biel as a fiercely independent American who marries a wealthy British man (Ben Barnes) whose family disapproves of his bridal choice.
That’s putting it mildly, giving actress Kristin Scott Thomas some meaty moments as Barnes’ tut-tutting mum.
Elliott (“The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”) says Coward may not have been “Coward” at the time he wrote “Virtue,” but it still took him and Jobbins three years to “match the stuff” while keeping roughly 30 percent of his original zingers.
“You can’t show fear in the face of that,” adds Jobbins.
And “Easy Virtue” is hardly a work of cowardice. The film boasts a bouncy soundtrack peppered by reworked versions of “Car Wash” and “Sex Bomb.”
“It’s a gamble. I’m not gonna lie,” Elliott says. His production team originally created a more traditional soundtrack, sticking to Cole Porter classics, but he felt something was lacking.
“We wanted to rock ‘n’ roll it up a little bit. We know you’re grandma will want to see this. I want to tell my kids to see this,” he says.
“We wanted to be shocking,” Jobbins says.
Tomorrow: Elliott discusses the accident which nearly took his life and Jobbins explores how a 1924 play has relevance in today’s world.
(Photo: Ben Barnes and Jessica Biel play lovers in the new comedy “Easy Virtue.” Photo credit: Giles Keyte, Sony Pictures Classics)
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