Bel Ami

British directing duo Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod made their feature debut with this lavish adaptation of the novel by Guy de Maupassant. An impoverished soldier becomes a social climber with the help of three wealthy and influential women when they take him under their wings. Donnellan and Ormerod assembled an impressive cast and crew for their debut which succeeds for the most part but that's the problem with the medium which doesn't have the luxury of a novel. Robert Pattinson stars as the title character with a solid performance but it's his fame that might attract the wrong audience which will be disappointed by the adult material. The stellar supporting cast includes a never better Uma Thurman and Christina Ricci along with the terrific veterans such as Kristin Scott Thomas and Colm Meany. 1001 Films' coverage of films on DVD.