Film Who's the Real Devil Here?
Seriously, I did not understand how Andy was supposed to be making the "right" choice at the end. Was she wring to screw over Emily? Maybe, but she tried to make it right later.
The first part, where Andy learns not to act like the fashion industry is all superficiality and worthless was GREAT and I say this as someone who doesn't care much for fashion. She assumed herself above her entry-level position because of the line of work—bad idea, and she deserved the call-outs she got for it. Her friends and boyfriend, not so much. I can understand missing that one important thing with her boyfriend being a strain, but the rest of the time they're essentially telling her to stop doing her job well because it takes up time. Most first jobs are time intensive, especially in industries like publishing. Complaining about the nicer clothes—hey, maybe Andy likes them and is trying something new? And defending themselves with saying she never cared about fashion "before" is weak since she's working for a fashion magazine!
All in all, Miranda was bitchy, but also ran the top magazine in New York. Andy changed, but to fit a job with great opportunities and hopefully pursue a lucrative career. Why is that bad again?
Film A film with too many grays to be strong.
At first, I thought this film would be a more adult, dark equivalent to Mean Girls. However, I found it to be thematically weaker and I'm disappointed.
Andrea Sachs lands a job as assistant to Miranda Priestly, the prestigous editor of the prestigious Runway Magazine. Miranda is cruel and keeps her staff living in fear and expects people to reverse the Earth's tilt for her without any thanks. We see her beat Andy down and transform her into one of her model employees, all while Andy's personal life suffers. However, this doesn't feel like a good Becoming the Mask. Andy doesn't appreciate the job she's applying for at first and though it's cruel, her treatment molds her into the kind of devoted multitasker the job requires. When Andy moves up the ladder, she tries to stick up for her demoted friend first, but her friend was doing poorly and Andy isn't allowed to refuse. Still, though, she's seen as wrong by her friends for calculatedly devoting herself to a job she's using as a strong launchpad to a career she actually wants. She never really seems to lose herself like the movie wants us to think.
Also, I think Miranda has all the elements of an effective abuser, and that could have made the "leave the job" viewpoint more sympathetic. Miranda's tactics are classic abuse, so playing Andy as bound to the job by emotional damage rather than by gaining sympathetic loyalty to Miranda could be better, with her realizing she has a choice because it's just a job, not because she thinks she's become too similar to Miranda. Miranda didn't really need sympathetic elements to be compelling, and making her power over Andy exclusively negative could have made a stronger plot.
I think the premise is interesting, but too muddled in execution. The devil wears Prada, but she gets results. Can we really say Andy was wrong?