Anne Hathaway plays Andy Sachs, a recent graduate hired as second assistant to Miranda Priestly, played by Meryl Streep, at a high-end fashion magazine. The film follows Andy’s struggle to keep up with the demands of her job while trying to hold onto her personal life and identity.
Trailer, via FoxConnect.
Andy Sachs and Miranda Priestly
Andy arrives at Runway expecting a job that will pay off her student loans. Instead she finds herself working for a demanding editor who expects her to know everything about fashion without ever having to explain anything. Streep dominates every scene she’s in, delivering lines about color and fabric with a precision that suggests she believes every word she says.
Hathaway plays Andy as wide-eyed and earnest, determined to prove herself even when everyone around her seems to think she’s wasting her time. The dynamic between the two women drives the film’s central conflict, but the script leans on stereotypes rather than character development.
Fashion and Its Cost
The film spends considerable time on the world of high fashion, showing the couture shows, the magazine shoots, and the endless meetings that make up the industry. This is where the movie feels most alive, capturing the energy and the exclusivity of a world that moves at a pace most viewers won’t recognize.
But the film’s view of that world is limited. Miranda is presented as brilliant and powerful, but also cruel and petty. The film never fully explores why she behaves the way she does, leaving her a caricature rather than a person.
Andy’s Identity Problem
Andy’s problem isn’t just that she can’t keep up with the job. It’s that she can’t reconcile the woman she wants to be with the woman Runway expects her to become. The film raises questions about ambition, class, and identity, but it doesn’t answer them in a satisfying way.
The climax, in which Andy confronts Miranda about the cost of her success, is meant to be a moment of clarity. It lands as a statement rather than a revelation.
Supporting Cast
James Marsden plays Andy’s boyfriend, who struggles to understand why she puts up with the job. Stanley Tucci plays a publicist who helps Andy navigate the magazine’s politics. Emily Blunt plays a fellow assistant who warns Andy about Miranda’s cruelty. Each actor brings energy to their scenes, but none of them get enough material to make their characters feel fully realized.
The film’s weakest moments come from its supporting cast. Blunt, in particular, is given a role that exists mainly to be wrong about Miranda and to disappear by the end. Her scenes are some of the most awkward in the film.
Technical Craft
The film looks polished. The costumes are elaborate and detailed, and the sets capture the sleek, expensive world of fashion magazines. The direction is competent, though it doesn’t elevate the material beyond what’s on the page.
The score is light and pleasant, doing little to disturb the film’s tone. It’s a safe, forgettable accompaniment to a film that already knows exactly what it wants to be.
What Works and What Doesn’t
The film is at its best when it’s focused on Andy’s daily struggle to survive at Runway. The scenes of her getting ready for work, of her panic when she realizes she’s forgotten something, of her exhaustion after a long day — these are the moments that land. They’re small, human details that anchor the film to something real.
Streep’s performance carries the film. She makes Miranda terrifying and funny in equal measure, and her delivery of the film’s most famous line — “There are no two words more harmful in the English language” — is a masterclass in comic timing.
The film’s view of the fashion industry is narrow and unexamined. It treats the world of high fashion as a closed, exclusive club that operates according to its own rules, without ever asking what those rules mean for the people who aren’t in it. The film never considers the workers behind the scenes, the models, the seamstresses, the people whose labor makes the glossy pages possible.
The film also leans too heavily on the idea that Andy is special, that she’s somehow different from everyone else at Runway. This is a common device in Hollywood, but it rarely holds up to scrutiny. In The Devil Wears Prada, it’s used to justify Andy’s presence at a magazine where she clearly doesn’t belong.
| Scene | Setting | Tone |
|---|---|---|
| Andy’s first day | Runway offices | Nervous, tense |
| Miranda’s office | Miranda’s private suite | Intimidating, cold |
| Andy’s apartment | Andy’s shared flat | Warm, comfortable |
| The fashion show | A grand venue | Glamorous, exhausting |
| The confrontation | Miranda’s office | Climactic, emotional |
Final Word
The Devil Wears Prada is a well-made, often entertaining film that falls short of being a great one. It’s a story about ambition, identity, and the cost of success, but it never quite reaches those themes. Instead, it settles for a satire that’s clever in spots but ultimately shallow.
The film’s strength lies in its performances and its sense of place. Its weaknesses lie in its refusal to dig deeper. It’s a stylish, sometimes funny look at a world few will ever see, but it never asks the hard questions about that world.
The Devil Wears Prada is a watchable, occasionally brilliant film that falls short of greatness. It deserves credit for its performances and its craft, but it leaves the viewer wanting more than it delivers. It’s a film that’s easy to enjoy in the moment but harder to recommend afterward.
