Easy Virtue (PG) **** - Jessica Biel, Kristin Scott Thomas, Colin Firth and Ben Barnes.

THIS sumptuous period piece based on a Noel Coward play sparkles with the wit and glamour which would have made the old man proud.

With a knockout cast in the hands of the highly capable Australian director Stephan Elliot’s e (The Adventures Of Priscilla Queen Of The Desert) hands, Easy Virtue is a slick and charming piece of cinema and one of the most enjoyable comedies of the year.

The fun starts when the archetypal wasteful prodigal son John Whittaker (Ben Barnes) returns home to his country estate with his glamorous American racing car driver bride Larita Huntington (Jessica Biel) on his arm fresh from winning the Grand Prix at Monte Carlo.

The beautiful Biel is like a breath of fresh air as the upstart Yank ruffling quite a few feathers with the stuffy Brits hardly knowing quite what has hit them.

But Larita hasn’t quite bargained for Kristin Scott Thomas’ formidable matriarch in this delightful period piece.