Director: David Frankel
Starring: Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Stanley Tucci
‘A Dazzling Drama’
Few actresses in Hollywood have the ability to keep audiences entertained like Meryl Streep. Following her rise to recognition in the 1980’s, Streep has become one of the greatest actresses in the film industry. Whether it’s stories about Holocaust survivors, fashion editors or joyous authors, Streep has always portrayed strong female characters. Streep’s greatest strength as an actress has always been her strong versatility. Through her abilities to portray a wide range of characters, Streep has created a legacy that’s lasting. Despite reaching the age of retirement, Streep has proven that she hasn’t lost passion for creating compelling entertainment. Shining bright light in darkness, she has become one of the greatest actresses in the business. A living legend, the actress has made many unforgettable movies in her career which are worth watching.
I’m a huge fan of Meryl Streep and adore all the movies she has produced throughout her illustrious career. However, “The Devil Wears Prada” is my favourite. Released in 2006, David Frankel’s film found the actress playing a fashion editor of a famous magazine. Filled with powerful production, stunning storytelling and phenomenal performances, it’s a fantastic fashion drama. At the centre of it all is an extraordinary performance by Meryl Streep, who embodies the strict manager of a fashion magazine. Ultimately, the film delivers a strong message about workplace harassment that would resonate with everyone. Viewers aren’t required to be fans of fashion to appreciate it. A dazzling fashion drama, there are several strong reasons why it’s a film that’s definitely without a doubt worth watching.
Set in New York, “The Devil Wears Prada” tells a story of a woman hired to work for a devilish manager of a famous fashion magazine. Anne Hathaway embodies Andy, a career-oriented woman seeking success in the fashion world. Andy’s dreams come true when she’s hired to work for a renowned Prada magazine that’s admired. However, Andy’s hopes are destroyed when she’s mistreated by cruel boss Miranda Priestley. Miranda is a cruel, demanding and irritable boss that treats her employees without any respect. As the two women clash over their perspectives on the world, Andy is stuck in a hopeless situation. Unable to meet Miranda’s high expectations, Andy questions whether she can any longer pursue success in fashion.
David Frankel is a newcomer to the stories of fashion. Before he directed “The Devil Wears Prada”, Frankel had never made a fashion film before. It was the filmmaker’s first attempt to capture the lives of demanding fashion editors but he succeeded. Through breathtaking visuals, Frankel captures a woman seeking success in the fashion industry. Frankel deftly uses montages to capture a woman struggling to please her boss that mistreats her poorly. For instance, montages elevate the coffee run scene. During this unforgettable scene, Andy is given a stressful task of running to get coffee for Miranda. One admires montages capturing the stressful nature of the fashion profession. Through these ingenious montages, Frankel captures hardships women in fashion industries go through. Montages are tricky techniques to use in movies. Nevertheless, they work immensely in this movie. Using breathtaking visuals, Frankel captures the demanding nature of jobs involving fashion which are terrifying.
Another admirable aspect of “The Devil Wears Prada” that merits appreciation is production. From a technical perspective, the film is extremely well-made. For a film that’s all about fashion, it’s no surprise that the main highlight of the movie is the costumes. Frankel expertly uses costumes to showcase personalities of women in the world of fashion. Throughout the movie, the costumes showcase Miranda’s strong personality as a woman in a powerful position of authority in the fashion industry. For instance, costumes enhance the sweater scene. During this unforgettable scene, Miranda criticizes the dress worn by Andy which isn’t up to standard in the fashion industry. One admires costumes capturing personalities of characters in the world of fashion. Miranda’s sleek black dress signifies her commanding personality whereas Andy’s sweater showcases her lack of fashion sense. Moreover, the musical score is magnificent. Theodore Shapiro’s musical score is fantastic. It captures tensions faced by devilish fashion designers, Through production-design, Frankel captures the world of fashion-design.
Storytelling is one of the key reasons why “The Devil Wears Prada” is a fashion drama which is compelling. The movie is beautifully written, and effectively utilizes dialogue to capture the struggles faced by women in the fashion world. Frankel’s screenwriting strength is capturing a life of a woman in the world of fashion through witty dialogue. In Hollywood, most movies capturing the lives of fashion designers scarcely capture the hardships they go through. Thankfully, though, “The Devil Wears Prada” avoids these pitfalls. Frankel effectively uses dialogue to capture the tense conflicts between a woman and her in the world of fashion design. For instance, dialogue elevates the book publication scene. During this unforgettable scene, Andy is given instructions to search for a Harry Potter book for Miranda. One admires witty dialogue capturing conflict between two women. Through dialogue, Frankel creates strong female characters audiences relate to. Using a phenomenal screenplay, Frankel captures fashion-designers today.
One admires astonishing performances.
Meryl Streep delivers one of her best career performances as Miranda. Streep earned appreciation for playing women facing divorce disasters. With “The Devil Wears Prada”, however, she portrayed her first fashion role. It isn’t easy to capture a larger-than-life personality of a woman in the world of fashion design, but she succeeds. It’s a role giving the actress an opportunity to showcase her strong screen presence. With phenomenal expressions, she captures the angst, jealousy and cruel nature of a fashion manager that mistreats her employees. It’s a phenomenal performance from one of the best actresses working today.
Anne Hathaway is amazing as an ambitious woman whose desire to achieve success in the world of fashion design comes with a price to pay. While Streep gets the showier role, Hathaway also shines as an ambitious woman with a strong goal. As Andy, Hathaway uses body language to capture a woman struggling to survive in the cutthroat fashion industry. Whether she’s awkwardly standing the corner being bullied by her boss or standing up against injustice, Hathaway beautifully uses her body language to convey emotions. It’s a powerful performance from one of the most talented young actresses working in Hollywood today.
Despite its strong performances, however, “The Devil Wears Prada” can’t quite capture lives of devilish managers wearing Prada. If there’s a minor drawback to the movie, it suffers from a romantic subplot. Frankel’s decision to integrate romantic subplots into the movie is bold but doesn’t succeed. Due toward this faulty technique, scenes focusing on Andy’s interaction with her boyfriend aren’t as engaging as her pursuit of success in the fashion industry. Whereas these romantic subplots elevated Meryl Streep’s other films, they feel out of place in this movie. It comes across as a distracting diversion in a film that’s focused on the profession of fashion. Therefore, “The Devil Wears Prada” can’t quite create gorgeous Prada dresses that everyone would adore.
Nevertheless, fans of Meryl Streep will definitely enjoy “The Devil Wears Prada” and so will movie-goers seeking exhilarating entertainment. A fantastic fashion drama, it celebrates the legacy of an actress with charisma that has become an icon in Cinema.
Nearly 20 years following the release of a classic film about devilish fashion editors wearing gorgeous attire with goals to acquire, it’s a fantastic reminder of a legendary actress that hasn’t lost her abilities to create compelling characters that inspire audiences to follow their dreams whose timeless movies I will forever admire.
4.5/5 stars
The Film Buff 
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