Easy Virtue is the story of Larita (Isabel Jeans), a young woman who stumbles into scandal when her vengeful husband (Franklin Dyall) assumes she was cheating on him with a young and talented painter. England follows the hearing with bated breath, as does the viewer. We see the court case unfold. Eventually, Larita is found guilty of adultery based on her former husband’s hearsay and the painter’s love letter. She flees the country to escape journalistic infamy. In the South of France, she meets a young wealthy man named John (Robin Irvine). The couple is smitten and marries quickly before returning home to England. There, John’s mother (Violet Farebrother), annoyed at their hasty betrothal, seeks to poison her son’s mind against Larita.
Easy Virtue is an interesting artifact of the 1920s. Fans of silent films and Alfred Hitchcock may be particularly interested in this title, but missing sections of the film, lacking title cards, and poorly adapted source material make this silent film particularly hard for modern audiences to follow. Many of the social concepts will fly right over modern viewers’ heads. These issues aside, Easy Virtue holds value in its tragic nature and its focus on Larita.
We watch Larita’s unapologetic attitude form throughout the course of the film. She is headstrong and willful, yet these traits are not counted among her faults. It is rare to find a romantic movie with such strong themes around divorce: Though society finds Larita at fault for the events which unfolded around her first marriage; the viewer is sympathetic to her plight, seeing the truth that she wasn’t interested in the young painter as the court believes. Though the film itself is titled Easy Virtue, we do not see Larita acting promiscuously. Her red letter was bestowed upon her, not earned. Easy Virtue gives us a historic glimpse into an issue that women still struggle to escape. We can see our society hasn’t come very far in nearly 100 years since the release of this film and the popularity of tabloid journalism has only expanded since the 1920s. Recommended.
Where does this film belong on public library shelves?
Easy Virtue belongs on drama and classic film library shelves.