'Vanity' a fair of imagery

"Vanity Fair," the screen adaptation of the novel by William Makepeace Thackeray, opened this weekend to eager audiences. What they got was a stunning visual tale, with too much drama packed into a two-hour movie. \nThe movie, set in the 1800s, begins with Becky Sharp (Reese Witherspoon) as a young girl in her father's atelier. Her father, a well-known painter, is approached by the Marquess of Steyne (Gabriel Byrne) to buy a portrait of her dead mother for five guinea. The young Becky immediately steps in and tells the Marquess he can have it for a higher price, and the story begins. What follows is a series of events showing Becky Sharp's rise in European society through exploiting people's weaknesses and taking every opportunity that lands in her lap.\nSharp leaves boarding school to live with her good friend Amelia Sedley, played by Romola Garai. They scheme on how Becky can gain the affections of Amelia's brother, Joseph Sedley. Becky tries to manipulate her way into the Sedley family, but gets the boot when her plans are discovered. \nBecky is forced to use her street smarts and ambition to help her and her family rise to the top of society life. During her mountain climb to the top, she encounters many obstacles and is eventually choked by her own ambition. \nThough he script is filled with drama and complex relationships, the characters are not developed. Becky evolves with each tragedy she faces while other characters are left deflated. The relationships in the story are not well-defined. The costumes steal the show, but the content leaves viewers wanting more.