The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

User Review

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  Barneyonmovies

  5 / 10

  WHAT I LIKED: The appeal of 'The Devil Wears Prada,' lies in its snappy style. Director David Frankel infuses as many quick cut montages and camera moves as a Martin Scorsese epic, whilst the star-studded cast - from the camp and snoopy Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci, to the desperate and conniving Emily Blunt - do an excellent job hamming up Aline Brosh McKenna's sassy dialogue.
  
  WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: When you strip all that away, what's left is one of the most right-wing celebrations of corporate exploitation ever put to film.
  
  Central character Andrea (Anne Hathaway) "isn't like all the other girls." She isn't interested in fashion or handbags, she just wants to become a journalist. So, she finds work as the assistant to fashion magazine mogul Miranda Priestly (Streep) in the hope it will eventually open some doors. However, it's immediately clear when we meet Miranda that she's the most evil kind of Capitalist; exploiting her workforce and making the most ridiculous demands of Andrea whilst constantly holding the threat of firing over everyone's head. But rather than critiquing that environment as you hope it might, the film celebrates Andrea's journey to willingly give up everything about herself to make it in this corporate world.
  
  She forgoes all free time and personal relationships, drops the negative opinions she has about her job, and embraces her colleagues' toxic narratives that wearing expensive clothes and losing weight makes you more worthy of attraction and success (see: the sickeningly giddy presentation of "I'm a size 4 now"). Despite the stylish veneer, it's gross to watch her character arc go in that direction, and her glib final-act change of heart when she decides to quit and be a journalist doesn't come with nearly enough deconstruction of what she's been through to make the whole thing worthwhile.
  
  In fact, the final scene has her gratefully smile and wave across the street as Miranda gets into her limousine before strutting off along the pavement. Frankly, the only thing that would have made me smile would have been if she'd enacted some kind of Guy Fawkes plot against her old masters. But then who knows, maybe that's what the sequel will be all about...
  
  VERDICT: 'The Devil Wears Prada,' is a snappy but sickening celebration of corporate exploitation and consumerism.

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