Every day, AlloCiné recommends a film to (re)watch on TV. Tonight: a comedy on the underside of the fashion world.
Often confined to dramatic roles predestining her for an Oscar nomination, Meryl Streep however tries to vary the genres. In 2006, she joined the adaptation of Lauren Weisberger’s novel, The Devil Wears Prada. Brought to the screen by David Frankel, the film presents a disenchanted vision of the fashion world, where working relationships are sometimes governed by intimidation, superficiality and a total lack of scruples.
Facing Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep lends her features to the cruel and tyrannical Miranda Priestly, editor-in-chief of the fashion magazine Runway. If her character is strongly reminiscent of Anna Wintour, head of Vogue magazine, the actress decides not to play a pale copy, refusing in particular to take the British accent. For her performance, she is also inspired by Diana Vreeland, the former editor-in-chief of Vogue, Liz Tilberis, the director of Harper’s Bazaar, but also by the presence of certain men such as Clint Eastwood and Mike Nichols. Involved even in the composition of Miranda’s look, Meryl Streep reproduces the hairstyle of model Carmen Dell’Orefice, Helen Mirren and Christine Lagarde for this mixture of elegance and authority.
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If the critics are mixed about the film when it comes out, they are however unanimous about its main interpreter. Even Anna Wintour, after attending the New York premiere, would have enjoyed Meryl Streep’s portrayal of Miranda. A performance against employment rewarded with the Golden Globe for Best Actress (as well as an Oscar and BAFTA nomination in the same category). The devil wears Prada is one of the biggest commercial successes of his career with more than 2 million admissions in France and international receipts of more than 326 million dollars, for a budget of 35 million.
The devil wears Prada by David Frankel with Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt…
Tonight on TMC at 9:05 p.m.