The Devil Wears Prada (15) ****
Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci and Adrian Grenier
THE antithesis of Robert Altman's spectacular failure Pret-a-Porter, The Devil Wears Prada shows how to make a great satire of the fashion industry.
Director David Frankel expertly brings Lauren Weisberger's acidic book wonderfully to life and gets the best out of his talented cast.
The story has at its centre Andy, played by Anne Hathaway, a rising star reporter trying to balance her ambitions with her ethical code that sometimes becomes blurred in the reality of life on the frontline.
Her working life is dominated by her dreadful bullying and narcissistic boss, magazine editor Miranda Priestly played in a wonderful turn by Meryl Streep.
The razor-tongued Miranda regularly gives Andy a tongue lashing with her devastating put downs that are shades of Kevin Spacey's evil manager in Swimming With Sharks.
But although Streep's evil chic boss has few redeeming features, a complex kind of sado-masochistic relationship develops between her and Andy which even blossoms into a kind of grudging respect after her initial baptism of fire.
Frankel provides an interesting take on the world of fashion, and apart from a slightly limp ending, The Devil Wears Prada is a witty, acerbic and highly enjoyable film.
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