Mira Nair's adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's classic period novel was always an ambitious task.

The lavish costume drama follows Becky Sharp (Witherspoon) who, born amid London squalor, lies and smiles to make her way up the social ladder.

While critics sharpened razors preparing to slash through Witherspoon's attempt at an extremely British heroine, the American girl surprised them all with a valiant effort -- if frequently undone by Nair's feminist characterisation of Becky.

The film's Becky is a victim of circumstance; Thackeray's Becky is a cunning, manipulative shrew. But even with the bite taken out of her part, Witherspoon delivers a hard-to-fault performance.