I Watch Films: Bright Young Things

 

Bright Young Things

Writer Adam Fenwick-Symes enters England at Dover and has his novel manuscript Bright Young Things confiscated. Without that he finds himself short of money which prevents him marrying his fiancée Nina Blount. He wins £1000 from Ginger Littlejohn and the Major offers to put it on a sure thing at the races at 33-1. It comes in but he fails to find the Major. Meeting the publisher Lord Monomark he’s given the gossip column as Mr Chatterbox, writing about the exploits of the rich young set, the Bright Young Things.

These include Agatha Runcible bringing down the government when the Prime Minister’s daughter invites them to 10 Downing Street after a party, many unusual parties, modern fashions, dinners at restaurants etc. Not wanting to cause trouble Adam and Nina take to inventing details, a foreign nobleman who they blame for the most outrageous things, and green bowler hats. At a car race things come to a head. Agatha, having got in as replacement driver has to take the wheel, drives off and is eventually committed to a mental institution. Spotting the Major Adam tries to pursue him, leaving Nina to phone in his column; unfortunately Lord Monomark tells him no more foreign nobleman, no more of a restaurant that he dislikes, and no more green bowler hats as he hasn’t seen any. Nina phones in the foreign nobleman at the restaurant in a green bowler hat before he can stop her.

Without money Nina and Adam can’t marry and Nina decides to go back to her ex Ginger. Adam’s bills run up, so when Ginger confronts him, asking him to let Nina go, he sells all his rights to pay the hotel bill. Others find their time amongst the Bright Young Things coming to an end, Agatha in the mental institution, Miles having to flee the country to avoid being prosecuted for homosexuality, Adam’s replacement ostracised after he becomes Mr Chatterbox. Then the war breaks out and Adam joins up; wins a medal. By chance he comes across the Major (now a General) who writes him a cheque before being killed. Back in England Adam goes to visit Nina, discovers Ginger and their child. Ginger is being prosecuted for black market deals, so Adam offers to buy back his rights to Nina.

This is based on Evelyn Waugh’s 1930 satirical novel Vile Bodies, though the film has more sympathy for it’s characters. They are still thoughtless and useless, causing destruction in their wake. Waugh predicted war for the end of his novel – a suitably horrible end for horrible people. This film uses the war to strip back, to reveal what’s beneath.

There’s a lot of telephone calls and telephoning in the film, though possibly not as much as in the novel (part of Waugh’s observation/satire is how much of the time those kids spend on their damn phones).

Watch This: Entertaining period comedy
Don’t Watch This: The satire is blunt, the darkness a comic shadow