Easy Virtue

Easy Virtue is a 2008 social comedy movie based on Noël Coward's play of the same name. The play was previously made into the silent movie in 1928 by Alfred Hitchcock.

This version however is directed by Stephan Elliott and it stars Jessica Biel, Ben Barnes, Colin Firth and Kristin Scott Thomas.

It tell's the story of Larita, a glamorous American widow and successful racecar driver . And she meets young John Whittaker in Monaco. They marry, and he takes his bride home to meet his family at their dauntingly large rural mansion. There she meets her icy cold mother-in-law, Veronica who already predisposed to dislike her new daughter-in-law, and disheveled, sad-eyed father-in-law, Major Jim Whittaker is still troubled from having lost all his men in the war. He has also lost interest in his home, and there is no love between him and his wife.

Larita also meets John's former girlfriend and neighbour Sarah Hurst, who is gracious about the marriage. But as time passes Larita get’s Larita is bored and miserable in the countryside and hates blood sports like hunting. To Larita's disappointment, John is not eager to leave the estate so that they can find a home of their own.

Larita's only sympathetic friends are the Major and the servants, whom she treats better than does Veronica. Larita retreats to the Major's workshop to help him work on his motorcycle. But the Whittaker estate has fallen on hard times. John loses his independence and seems immature to her as he is drawn into family life. In addition, John's affection for Larita seems to be waning, as complains about his wife to Sarah, who finds his overture inappropriate. When John learns how bad the financial situation is for the family, his sense of responsibility to his family brings him closer to his mother and drives a wedge between him and his wife, as his mother had hoped.