It's hard to believe, but David Frankel's The Devil Wears Prada is over a decade old at this point. The film quickly became one of Meryl Streep's most iconic performances, and given her lengthy filmography that's saying something. Streep would eventually receive an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal, based off of Vogue Editor in Chief Anna Wintour. Miranda Priestly is a cold and calculating character, although a deleted scene from The Devil Wears Prada actually gives her some more humanity, as well as an explanation as to why her marriage is such a wreck. The scene recently resurfaced online, check it out.
Seriously, why would they ever delete this scene? Let's break down exactly what this moment includes, and how it affects the overall narrative of the film.
Toward the middle of The Devil Wears Prada, Miranda goes to an important Runway event with Andy and Emily. In the finished film, Andy manages to remember one of Miranda's guests when Emily can't, impressing her boss in the process. But the deleted scene is arguably more powerful.
In the midst of the event, Miranda's husband Stephen shows up and seriously embarrasses the Editor in Chief. He's pretty wasted, and proceeds to mock the event, the staff, and one of the guests. In order to save the moment for her, Andy distracts the guest, while Miranda escorts her husband a few steps away from the potential conflict.
This deleted scene is telling for a few reasons. To start, it expands the tumultuous relationship between Miranda and her husband. The two scenes from the film that delve into their struggle seem to focus Stephen's frustrations with Miranda's schedule, specifically how it keeps her from making their dates and dinner reservations. In the finished film, we're also shown how their marriage eventually goes under during the trip to Paris. But this deleted scenes helps to put more blame on Stephen. Because his poor behavior had the potential to ruin business deals for Miranda, or possibly ruin the entire event. Suddenly, Meryl Streep's character no longer carries the full blame, and their eventual separation feels more mutual.
Furthermore, this scene shows a rare moment of humanity for the Runway head honcho. Seeing how Andy saved the day, she mouths a silent thank you to her assistant. Miranda is almost never kind, certainly not to her assistants who are human doormats to the executive. But in this instance, Miranda actually acknowledged Andy's contribution, giving the character another layer that was missing from the majority of the movie.
This moment also makes Miranda's decision to bring Andy to Paris instead of Emily even more sense. Because Andy's help went from professional to personal, as it saved Miranda personal embarrassment regarding her marriage. That contribution seems more significant than Andy remembering one guest, while Emily remembered everyone else.
Meryl Streep's next movie will be The Post opposite Tom Hanks, which will be released December 22, 2017. In the meantime, check out our 2017 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
