EASY VIRTUE (PG) Comedy/Romance Starring Ben Barnes, Jessica Biel and Kristin Scott Thomas. Writer-director Stephan Elliott (The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert) revives Noel Coward's comedy across the class divide with this handsome jaunt into the British countryside.

Set at the tail end of the 1920s, Easy Virtue immerses us in a rarefied world of stiff upper lips and lavish stately homes, where the appearance of wealth is paramount to a family's standing.

John Whittaker (Barnes) returns to his family's stately pile with his new bride, sexy racing-car driver Larita (Biel) in tow. Chaos erupts when the outsider strays into this microcosm of staunch tradition and etiquette, and dares to challenge the status quo.

Needless to say, the locals come out fighting, armed with a dizzying array of one-liners that still smart more than 80 years after Coward committed them to the page.

Jessica Biel is a revelation in her leading role as a glamorous fish out of water, managing to combine elegance and vulnerability with slapstick to often hilarious effect.

Larita tries to fit in, quietly suffering the freezing English weather.

However, tensions quickly escalate, especially when Larita dares to fraternise with butler Furber (Marshall), and Veronica blatantly tries to drive a wedge between the newly-weds.

Easy Virtue is easy on the eye and the ear, with plentiful laugh-out-loud moments, and an embarrassment of quips. There are a few noticeable longueurs and some of Elliott's music choices are eccentric to say the least, including new versions of Tom Jones's Sex Bomb (to accompany a fox hunt) and Firth's closing rendition of Billy Ocean's 1980s hit When The Going Gets Tough (The Tough Get Going).

A macabre set-piece involving the ill-fated family dog is a particularly treat, marred slightly by Elliott's decision to let the joke run longer than necessary.

The great and the good of the British acting establishment relish the pithy dialogue in supporting roles.

However, rising star Ben Barnes (The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian) is poorly served as the prodigal son caught between his heart and his heritage.

3 out of 5 stars