ITV Northanger Abbey -- My Thoughts

[olde_fashioned]

I've just finished watching the new Northanger Abbey, so here is what I thought.

Spoilers galore, and comments welcome! ;-D



First of all, I want to make it clear that I very strongly objected to the addition of "naughty" scenes which were not at all in the novel. Catherine reading The Monk (which she DID NOT READ in the novel and it was TOTALLY OUT OF CHARACTER for her to do so!!) squirming in her bed, and Isabella's one-night-stand with Frederick Tilney all threaten to diminish my enjoyment of this otherwise enjoyable adaptation. From what I can gather, we also had scenes edited out for the American audience yet again, although the removal of the infamous Bathtub Dream Sequence is rather a relief to me. ;-) Having said so, I dislike not knowing all of what is in this adaptation. But enough of this.

I enjoyed this much much more than I did last week's Persuasion, perhaps because I love the book Northanger Abbey much more than I do Persuasion. ;-) I could not help but notice the pirating of various gothic fantasy scenes from the old 1986 version of NA, which, despite it's deficiencies, is a favourite of mine, and as such, was vigorously compared to the new version as I watched it. So perhaps I am not the fairest judge of Andrew Davies' attempt. ;-) I did however find the "carriage attack" to be excessively diverting, especially with gouty Mr. Allen swordfighting the villains with his crutch! LOL!

When the casting for this new NA was announced, I was very pleased with Felicity Jones' appearance, and her performance did not alter my pre-determined opinion of her suitability as Catherine. She was every bit as naive, sweet, genuine, and innocent (barring the aforementioned questionable additions...) as she was in the novel. I found myself wondering if part of her screen test was to open her mouth wide enough to drive a bus between her teeth. I suppose this was to convey some of her awe to the viewer, but I for one found it highly amusing, and not at all in a negative sense. She is a very pretty girl, and I would enjoy seeing her star in other period films.

Now for Mr. Henry Tilney. ;-) Henry has long been a favourite Austenian hero of mine, and the only reason he is not *the* favourite, is because Jane Austen happened to create other heroes named Mr. Knightley, Mr. Darcy, and Colonel Brandon. *lol* I'm sure I am being nit-picky, but I was rather surprised to hear JJ Feild's voice. It's so deep! I did not expect that at all. (yes, I know, stupid me!) I did catch glimpses of him in To The Ends of The Earth before turning it off in disgust, but his character was so busy getting falling-down-drunk that he did not make much of an impression on me. The role of Henry Tilney is not that terribly different from that of a drunken sailor, other than that Henry is rather drunk with love for Catherine, as opposed to drunk with alcohol. *lol* He said "I must give you one smirk" but if I had been counting I am sure it would have reached one hundred! Are smirks supposed to denote charm? I'm not so sure if I were Catherine, I would be able to take so much teasing and snarky smiles without throwing a few barbs in his direction in return. ;-) At least JJ Feild was physically appropriate for the role with dark hair and eyes, which is more than can be said for Peter Firth! Overall I thought he (JJ) was tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me.

Eleanor was satisfactorily depressed and quiet, as she should be, but I don't think she had exactly the right "chemistry" (for lack of a better word) with her brother. I think the relationship between Eleanor and Henry as brother and sister (not respectively, hahaha) is one of the most important in the entire novel, second only to Catherine and Henry. Eleanor brings out the tender side of Henry when he cannot fully display it to Catherine without betraying his affection for her, and Eleanor also is able to help form Catherine's opinion of him by showing (and telling!) what a good brother he is. I would have liked to see more than glances between the siblings to suggest their friendship.

The ride to Woodston. Pray, what was the purpose of that? Other than allowing Henry to caress Catherine's cheek, I mean. Heheheh. I thought Catherine's riding habit, if such a gauzy, flimsy thing can be called a habit. Any bets it's muslin? Which reminds me...

The muslin scene has always been a favourite of mine, so no censure there. I also love the journal discussion during Henry and Catherine's first dance, and when Henry glares at those men to give up their seats for Mrs. Allen and Catherine! Oh, I liked that part very much. Very gallant, I must say. :-D And the way he goes to fetch the master of ceremonies so that he can talk to Catherine was very well done. ;-) Their little repartee was very sweet, IMO. Very "Northanger" and I also was thrilled to hear the choices of the dance music! One of the pieces played I have on my English Country Dancing CD (the exact name of the song escapes me at the moment) and a few favourites from the '95 Pride & Prejudice also made appearances! I've noticed that AD adaptations often have the same music in the dance sequences. I wonder if he gets to choose some of them?

Carey Mulligan must have studied under the same voice coach as JJ, because her voice was almost so deep as to be unnatural, or at least I thought so. Also, the profuse amount of cleavage Isabella kept flaunting made me uncomfortable for the sake of all the male viewers. Does Andrew Davies' screenplay demand that Isabella bend over in front of the camera in every other scene? Really, we get the point that she's a flirt. Honestly. We're not all as ignorant as Catherine Morland! And again, the "romance" with Captain Tilney was pitiable at best, and discomforting at worst. Showing nothing more revealing than Isabella wrapped in a sheet, I still object to the inferences implied. If JA had wanted Isabella and Frederick to go so far, she would have written it in her novel. She did not scruple to have Willoughby seduce Eliza (OFF-SCREEN THANK YOU VERY MUCH) and adding that scene was quite unnecessary IMNSHO. I also think the character of Captain Tilney has been marred, for I'm not sure he was written as the heartless rake he was portrayed as in the film. I read him as more of a thoughtless flirt, who fled the scene of his "crime" once he'd realized Isabella had taken it farther than he had intended. *smooths ruffled hair and skirts and steps down off of soap box*

Did anyone else know that Mrs. Allen (Sylvestra Le Touzel) played Fanny Price in the 1983 version of Mansfield Park? I thought she made a horrible Mrs. Allen. Googie Withers in "my" 1986 version was infinitely superior IMVHO, showing all the folly and good-natured combination of silliness and sweetness that JA originally wrote. Mr. Allen was duly boring, but again, was not quite the foil to his wife that the 1986 Mr. Allen was. I did like the little Morland boy touching his gouty foot though! ;-)

Speaking of which, the Morland children were positively ADORABLE!! I loved them! The whole Morland family walking in a line according to size at the beginning was very funny, and the scene at the end when Henry comes riding up to speak to Catherine, and the two little sisters shout that he's riding a white horse (!) and when they hear their sister say his name, the look at each other and exclaim "Mr. Tilney!!!" in rapturous, unified little voices. Pricless! Henry also looking awkwardly at the presence of so many little ears (when he wants to propose to his love!) was also very amusing. I thought he was going to choke on that vile-looking lemonade, poor man.

The kiss was a good deal better than The Fish Gasping For Air, aka Anne Elliot. Kind of bungling, but in a sweet, cute sort of way. Makes me wonder if all first kisses are so awkward. ;-) Not that I would know, mind you!!! The voice over (which was a horrible sounding woman to play JA, I might add) reminding us that Catherine is 18 and Henry is 26 very nearly spoiled it for me, but I should be pretty used to large age gaps in JA novels by now!

Am I forgetting anything else? Hmm...let me see...oh, yes! John Thorpe! Absolutely disgusting, and even though I didn't see any warts, I'm sure they must be there somewhere. Perhaps lurking beneath his cravat? They simply have to be there. I also think he drinks the same brand of wine that General Tilney does, because they both had these perpetually sour expressions across their faces. John was supposed to be more of an idiot than a stalking creep, and the General did not have enough screen time or development for me to really judge him, so it's not really a fair statement for me to say I still prefer Robert Hardy as the General. (More soup, anyone?)

Are you bored yet? lol. Huzzah and hoorah for you if you've made it thus far! Perhaps I ought to call this an analysis, or dissection, rather than a mere review. It's way longer than I intended!

Comments

[littleflower518.livejournal.com]

I have not read the book, but I did enjoy the movie last night! I agree...the other character would not have tempted *me* in the least bit! I have to admit...I LOVED the scene where Henry wipes the smudge from Catherine's face!!! *swoons*...she looked BEAUTIFUL in that scene!!!

I will say that I'm really enjoying Sunday nights now...putting on my jammies and snuggling with my blanket in my chair!!
Have a great week Lauren...and thank you for your kind words last week on the Anniversary date of my mom's death.
Lindy

[olde-fashioned.livejournal.com]

She did look pretty there, didn't she? I thought she was a very pretty girl, and even my dad seemed to agree. (he does not exactly enjoy my old '80s version that I make everybody watch, lol)

I did the same thing! I had socks and a blanket in a chair, and like I told my mom, Jane Austen and cookies make for a pretty good evening!! ;-)

Oh, and Lindy, you should read the book!! I loved it and it's such a sweet story. Henry is such a tease, and he comes off much more amiable than he did in the movie (not that he was disagreeable in it at all!)

You're welcome, Lindy, but you don't have to thank me for that sort of thing. I hope you have a great week, as well. :-D

[valancy-s.livejournal.com]

Hello, came through from bbccostumedrama. Till I read your review it didn't even occur to me that scenes had been cut, though I DLed this last spring! It seems sad to shorten an already too-short adaptation, but at least they didn't cut anything from the book. I wish it had been 2 hours so they could've put in more Henry/Catherine dialogue, like the stuff from the country walk.

I too was astonished by JJ's deep voice - if you look away, he actually sounds just like Alan Rickman when he says certain lines. I love how he delivered the "how could you?" speech to Catherine when he finds her in his mother's room - the perfect combination of reprimand and tenderness. He smirked too much in general, but otherwise I quite liked him.

Isabella's bare boobs were very irritating, especially since Carey Mulligan is so skinny - they don't even look possible. The scene of her sleeping with Capt. Tilney is ridiculous, but they could have made it a bit less implausible to me if they presented it like T had lead her on to think they were engaged before seducing her, and then left her cold. Isabella's far too manipulative to have been so weakly manipulated herself as this implied. I disagree with your reading of Captain Tilney as a harmless flirt though - I don't think he's as black a libertine in the book, but he doesn't seem to care one bit about other people's feelings.

John was supposed to be more of an idiot than a stalking creep

I agree with this - he should have been dumber and more blustering. I thought Sylvestra and the guy playing Mr. Allen were funny though, especially the "understands muslin" riff and Mr. Allen's good-humored leering grin.

Overall a good adaptation, I thought! (But then, I've never seen any other one...)

The Fish Gasping For Air

ROFL, that's what I call it too!

[olde-fashioned.livejournal.com]

Hello back, and thanks for telling me how you "found" me. ;-)

I agree that it was sad to shorten an already-short movie. NA would not make a 5-hour adaptation but I would have liked to see it stretched into another hour or so.

Yes, yes, I thought so too!! He would do well to play Alan Rickman's son in a movie some time, because he really does sound like him. I was dissapointed in the Mrs. Tilney bedchamber scene, because they eliminated the "How came you by that staircase?" opening.

I also agree re: Isabella not being so naive as to allow herself to be ruined. She wasn't nice, but she wasn't stupid, either. (she got all her brother's portions of brains, haha)

;-)

[main-hoon-emily.livejournal.com]

I completely agree with you about the "naughty" scenes! I watched it with a friend and we were both cringing. Those aside, I thought it was a very good adaptation of the book (and I have a huge crush on Henry Tilney, thought my expectations were too high for any mere mortal to play him satisfactorily, but was pleasantly surprised by JJ Field's portrayal!).

The Isabella seduction scene -- there, again, I agree with you. In the book Isabella is a flirt and probably not so high of moral as a young lady should be, but she didn't seem the type to risk utterly compromising her reputation. I felt sorry for her, having half her bosom about to spill out of her dress in every scene!

[olde-fashioned.livejournal.com]

I was cringing, too, and I actually muted it when she was reading The Monk. We didn't need to hear all that -- her horrified expression would have been quite enough.

I see you have a lovely icon made by a good friend of mine. ;-)

[twilight-luvers.livejournal.com]

I'm giving PBS some very harsh glares for all this nipping and tucking!

Basically, I agree with all of the above. Although the "scandalous reading" scenes were a bit exagerated and probably not exactly what Jane Austen meant, I liked them all the same.

Did you see the intro by that red head woman before the movie? She implied that Jane Austen loved gothic romantic novels, which I disagreed with. If she loved them so much, why would she write Northanger Abbey which essentially makes fun of them?

[olde-fashioned.livejournal.com]

Me too!

Aside from objecting to them from a moral standpoint, I did not think they were in character for the innocent Catherine. She did have a strong desire to do what she believed to be right, and reading salacious novels would not have been considered "right" to the daughter of a parson. Just my humble opinion. ;-)

That Red Head Woman was Gillian Anderson, of Bleak House and X-files fame. ;-) I agree with her statement that JA enjoyed gothic novels. She made fun at many things that I think she still loved -- I think she was more parodying the Romantic tendency to "over-do" things like Catherine does. JA's juvenile short, Love and Freindship [sic] is another good example of this style of writing.

[misseri44.livejournal.com]

I watched the movie last year and i don't remember everything that happened in it, but i agree with you in some of the scandalous scenes, i think they could have been avoided, specially the one with Catherine in the bathtub (sp?), that's not how i picture an Austen character,but in general i liked the adaptation and i've got to say that they did a good job in such a short adaptation, if only they were like P&P (1995) i'm sure we all would be happier

Overall I thought he (JJ) was tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me.

:D

He was cute, but not my favorite Austen man

[olde-fashioned.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes. If they were all hours upon hours long I would be MUCH happier! lol.

Couldn't resist a little bit of Darcy there. ;-)

Ditto.

[ingenu0us.livejournal.com]

Oh, I just LOVE Northanger Abbey. I love the novel, and I loved this adaptation. I just kee forgetting that this is the first time people are seeing this.

I agree with you about the "sexed up scenes" — they are completely unnecessary but unfortunately it's becoming so much more acceptable to do that in movies, even in period dramas. :(

Overall I thought he (JJ) was tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me.
Now I must agree with you there! Tilney is one of my favourite Austen heroes, if not the favourite. (I'm afraid it's a close call with Darcy and all...) JJ Feild was marvelous, and I think he was extremely handsome. But to each her own! I'll just keep him to myself, haha. ;)

I love their "happily ever after" kiss! It's so adorably awkward and cute — the perfect ending. And I liked how they started and ended the movie with the quotes from the book.

The best of the new Austen adaptations! I'm so glad this means it's finally coming out on DVD. YAY!

[olde-fashioned.livejournal.com]

So do I! NA will always be one of my favourites, and perhaps that's part of my problem with this adaptation. ;-) I don't like it when anyone messes with "my" story. :-)

Thank you, and I fear you are too right. It is sad when romance is no longer romantic enough, and we have to add bedroom scenes to grab the viewers' attention. :-(

LOL!! Henry is an adorable cheeky good time and I'll always love his character, but I'd rather have Mr. Knightley. *hee*

Yes, I agree with you! Do you think it they were trying to make Henry a little bit innocent, and perhaps even vulnerable, as Catherine was?

The best so far, and as I have no hopes for Billie Piper as Fanny Price, probably the best of all the ITV attempts. ;-) Did you find NA2 better than the new S&S?

Lovely icon btw. I have had a very hard time to avoid drooling over admiring your Cranford icons for fear of spoilers! ;-) I have yet to read it, you see, but I am absolutely dying to watch it! And now I see from your keywords that he's a doctor! Oh! I always am a sucker for the doctor characters in stories. ;-)

[midenianscholar.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen it, as we were on the road late last night, but my grandparents taped it for me, so I've seen up to the girls-in-corset-talking-with-much-clevage part.

What! What! *outrage* Why do they insist on turning poor silly, nonsensical characters into--*tries to think of a way to term it gently*--into romance hunters?? *headdesk, multiple times* I'm glad I had the warning. I probably would have broken the TV. Now I need to go email my friend and tell her not to judge the book by the movie...alas and alack. *strangles modern directors* People who read Jane Austen are obviously used to having bad characters stay behing a door, if they are bad at all! In this case they weren't. Anyway. So we don't need you to bring them out and show off everthing. Thank you, Hollywood.

*headache**crawls away*

[olde-fashioned.livejournal.com]

You mean Isabella's "shining moment" when she talks about money?

Yes, your reaction is similar to my own when I read about what had been added. *pats shoulder consolingly* That's one of the problems with watching before reading -- it can be "dangerous" if the movie misrepresents the novel!

[sabrinafair2.livejournal.com]

I kinda skimmed through your review, but this version is actually my first introduction to NA. So, I didn't know about the fantasies being a little over the top. I can see JA doing it though, as a satyrical stab at gothic novels. I'm guessing unlike the Bronte sisters, she was not impressed by Lord Byron. (I think it's quite humourous how JA and the Brontes, would dislike each other works.)

I was surprised about how deep his voice was also! I never heard of the Bathtub scene; what made it so infamous? I also didn't care of the one-night stand, I knew it was most likely added by Davies.

All in all, I think I rather prefer Persuasion, because Anne is much more mature than Catherine. And IMO Anne knows what love is better, than the naive Catherine. Also in a certain sense this is the one paordy JA wrote, so it feels *less* romantic, to me.

[olde-fashioned.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'll bet everyone else did too, it's so stinkin' long! *hides*

This version took quite a few liberties with the novel, some of which were monumental (i.e. Isabella/Frederick, the gothic fantasies, and The Monk) and some not so bad, like Henry likening his father to a vampire, wiping her cheek, and the alteration of several lines here and there. Lord Byron, as I recall, was not mentioned in the novel.

Good point re: JA and the Brontes!! Very funny, now that you point that out. :-D

They edited it out for the US audience, so I haven't seen it, but apparently Catherine has another fantasy, this time about Henry, and she stands up while taking a bath, and is "naked" in front of him. The camera, I believe, keeps above her waist and on her back so we don't see anything, but it's all the hint we need. :-/

Anne and Catherine are sooo different, but the idea that Anne knows what love is more so than Catherine is interesting. Perhaps she knows rather what it is to "have loved and lost"?

[chloeandrudy.livejournal.com]

I haven't read Northhanger Abbey but I'm totally glad to hear that all that naughty stuff *wasn't* in Austen's book, not that I ever imagined it would be. How dare they?
John Thorpe was disgusting. Couldn't Catherine tell just by looking at him? I would have never considered dancing, much less going on a carriage ride with *him*.
I liked this movie up until the ladies were sat down by Tilney at the dance. After that, I just kept shaking my head. I'm not liking Andrew Davies' *adaptations* very much.

[olde-fashioned.livejournal.com]

If you've read S&S or P&P then you know how well JA dances around "naughty" deeds committed by "naughty" people without getting explicit. There is nothing at all in NA that would make anyone blush, IMO.

Thorpe wasn't quite as disgusting in the novel as he was in the movie -- he was sooo obvious! Andrew Davies changed so much already, so I wish he would have made Henry punch Thorpe in the nose for leering at Catherine. lol.

Do you dislike the Firth/Ehle P&P, the Beckinsale version of Emma, and Wives & Daughters, then?

[ex-arcady.livejournal.com]

Once again, great opinions!

I didn't catch it last night, as I have the UK DVD, but really, they edited scenes out? Now I think I will have to watch and compare.

Isabella is annoying, and I think Carey Mulligan is too sweet and has played too sweet of characters...it was strange to see her in a different role. But she was good at being irritating.

I thought the costumes were divine!! As the hair styles. Not over the top.

[olde-fashioned.livejournal.com]

Thank you! *bows*

Yes, they edited things out. Grrrrrrrrr.....

Well Kitty Bennet was not exactly what I would call sweet! But Ada from Bleak House was. ;-)

Oh, yes the hair!!! 8-D And the costumes were very lovely, even if Miss Tilney did not wear enough white!!

I MISSED IT

[lucilla27.livejournal.com]

I missed it last night but my PBS will show it again late tonight.
I hope I enjoy it.

Re: I MISSED IT

[olde-fashioned.livejournal.com]

I would have missed it if I had not set the VCR to record it!

I hope you get to see it, and enjoy it as well. :-)

[ladybluelake.livejournal.com]

I loved this adaption, it's so charming. I've never seen the 80's version though. I've heard bad things about it from various people, but I like to judge things for myself. What others seem to dislike I love and what others love I hate, lol. I'm going to eventually rent it.

The added scenes did not bother me much. Things like that really don't irk me to much if I love the overall film. I never expect the film or television adaptions to match the books. It's like two different worlds for me. I love reading, so the books are one world to me. When I watch my tv, the stuff like these adaptions are another world to me. If that makes any sense, I just separate the two. The days of these films matching the books are over. They say it has to be a bit more modern and shocking so people will watch. It's a load of crap really. Case in point, the recent Oliver Twist that aired on BBC. Not quite like the book, but I must admit that I enjoyed it very much. The performances were very good, especially Tom Hardy. I'm not that big of a fan of his. It's coming to PBS next year.

The bathtub fantasy was intresting, it wasn't that bad. Definitly the best of the ITV Austen adaptions. I thought the cast was very good.

It's close to my heart this adaption. My mother and I watched it together a couple of days before she died and she enjoyed it so much. She was always pestering me about those English period dramas, so we could watch them together. Watching it on PBS last night brought good memories for me.

I can't wait to read your take on Mansfield Park next week. Oh boy, you might of guessed my feelings for that already ;)

[olde-fashioned.livejournal.com]

I would agree with you that it was rather charming, but then I think the entire story is sweet and charming in that way.

The '80s version certainly has it's faults, and I think it may be one of those polarizing things that you either love or hate, but I personally love it.

Sometimes I am able to seperate the two as you do, but especially for JA, I resent meddling with Jane's novels. I can forgive changes due to confinements in regards to time, length, budget, etc., but unnecessary additions and careless flaws are very irritating to me. ;-)

I am sorry to hear about your mother, but am glad that you have something to keep her memory alive for you. :-)

LOL! *curtsies* I am not expecting to like it...

[anodiel.livejournal.com]

Catherine was my kind of girl....reading too many novels. Haha, If only I had that much time to read too many novels. :)

[olde-fashioned.livejournal.com]

LOL! Yeah really!

[ibmiller.livejournal.com]

Don't have enough time to do justice to your thoughtful review now, but do have a few things to say (and hopefully more later):

1) Re: sex. I agree that Catherine is innocent in the book, and the overtness of the sexuality in this adaptation was troublesome to me. However, I thought that the way Felicity Jones played the scenes tended to make her participation in them more curious than prurient. Others have disagreed, but that was my take on it. However, I've always thought Frederick Tilney was a dangerous rake, and so his seduction of Isabella made a lot of sense to me. My opinion of Isabella is likewise low (though Carey Mulligan was wonderful), so I sort of assumed her participation made sense (I thought that she assumed he was honorable enough to marry her once she'd seduced him...perhaps I think her too gullible, but there tis).

2) Love, love, love Felicity Jones. Yup. And the kiss at the end I have dubbed the nerd!kiss, because it's so awkward, sweet, and passionate all at once.

3) Henry's relationship with Eleanor - a scene was cut from the PBS broadcast where Henry, Catherine, and Eleanor all go appling, and there is much laughter and love between them all. I think that might have helped (though I always thought his care for her, even in the cut version, was very well done).

4) Kids - Andrew Davies seems to really like adding kids to his adaptations - the Gardiner's kids in P&P, the Knightley kids in Emma, these ones in NA, and Margaret in S&S. They were so funny in this version - and Catherine's care for them as the eldest at home was so sweet.

[olde-fashioned.livejournal.com]

Haha. That's okay, I know I talk too much!! ;-)

1) You raise some good points, and while I still maintain that Isabella/Frederick did not in the novel, I suppose if you wanted to stretch the text reallllly far you could say it was possible, but unlikely. The Monk was totally and wholly unappropriate though.

2) Ditto! I agree completely.

3) Aww, shucks, now you're making me sorry to have missed that scene! *grrr* Is it on YouTube, do you know?

4) I never thought of that! But you're right! I guess AD does like kids in his adaptations, and that's one addition I'm grateful for, because they're always sweet and funny. (I also liked ET's addition of Margaret in S&S because she was so adorable, even though her personality is not in the novel) Seeing Catherine as such a good big sister is a good way to show how she'll be as a mother, I thought.

[einaphets.livejournal.com]

I watched it last night and don't you know my DVR crapped out on me the last 10 minutes! The best part (I'm hoping). :( But I'll record it again tonight and hopefully have better luck.

I hadn't read or watched this one before so it was completely new to me. It certainly had a much better flow to it than Persuasion did.

I am curious though. In the movie there were several instances later on of couples walking off unchaperoned, such as the horse ride which went raining and at the assembly when Isabella and the military Tilne left together. Were these written as such in the book? I would have thought they'd been chaperoned at all times.

Otoh, these remakes have given me the impetus to finally purchase six of Austen's novels and Gaskell's North & South. I am one of those rare birds who love Austen but have never actually read her. Isn't that sacriligious?

But I'll be rectifying that shortly.

[olde-fashioned.livejournal.com]

Oh, I HATE that!! I set the timer to begin half an hour earlier and and end half an hour later than the scheduled time. *blush* I made that mistake only once!!

I agree, and you should read the novel. It's really sweet.

It has admittedly been a while since I read it, but Catherine and Henry did go and visit Woodston. That's a good question, though! You should post about it at only_a_novel (which is centered around NA!) or the NA board at the Republic of Pemberley (www.pemberley.com) and ask the local experts there.

No, not really. :-) We all have to start somewhere!

Let me know when you have, I'd like to hear your thoughts! :-D

[midenianscholar.livejournal.com]

Okay. I have now watched it, so I can form a proper opinion.

I think...I think I did like it. It was tolerably amusing, at least. I do not think I liked Henry as much as I wanted to until the second half. It's probably because the Henry in the book is played by my cousin Tyler (in my head). Tyler is much better at the sort of teasing sarcasm and smiles that I see Henry actually using, than the actor's sort of dry voice and smirks. See, there's this art to teasing and sarcasm (which the actor Mark Ruffalo in Just Like Heaven and 13 Going 30 is perfect at) that you sort of just have to be born with. I felt like the actor didn't quite pull it off all the way. However, the mud on her cheek, finding her in his mother's room, and a few other small things almost made up for it.

Elinor was not developed as much as I wanted. Elinor in the book is more of a downcast Jane Bennett, to me. This Elinor did not seem to be quite as sincere or sweet, for some reason. The only time I really felt like I was seeing her was when her beloved came to meet her, and when she gently tapped the spoon to help Catherine. (If I was into writing Janefic, I would write the story of Elinor and the beloved, because I think it's probably very sweet.)

The Thorpes disappoint me. They are such good, Charles Dickens sort of characters! There is no reason to make them otherwise.

Um. I wanted more Henry from the book, not scripted Henry. I missed his conversation during their walk, which is absolutely hilarious and when I fell in love with him. I also didn't like his line about novels being better than sermons or whatnot. Henry happens to be a clergyman, I might point out.

Otherwise... The actress for Catherine was very cute, and I felt like she did a good job. I would have liked to get a little more of Catherine's way of innocence--where she took everything around her as truth, and didn't read things into what people were saying. (I love in the book when Isabella is telling her about getting engaged, and Catherine is completely clueless.) But they probably couldn't put in enough script time to make her clueless, but not stupid. (Because she isn't dumb, she's just a bit ignorant.)

So, overall, I think I give it a 7 out of 10.

Yikes. Sorry. Didn't mean to post a whole review in a comment. :P

[olde-fashioned.livejournal.com]

*settles in for a long ride*

See, I wanted to like Henry and he was better than Peter Firth in "my" version, but he wasn't spot-on for some unexplainable reason. Maybe it was his Alan Rickman voice? *shrug*

I sorely felt the lack of Eleanor's character development. :-( I loved her and Henry's relationship in the book and they almost completely obliterated it. Sad business!

Ooh, good observation re: the Thorpes being Dickensian! That's interesting!!

Yes, exactly.

7 out of 10 is fair.

Don't be! I enjoyed reading it. ;-)

[robertinbc.livejournal.com]

Though I'm late,I wanted to comment on your review.I enjoyed your review as I wasn't very familiar with the novel.To borrow from C.S. Lewis "You can't get a cup of tea big enough or a Jane Austen review long enough to suit me."

I had wondered about the "naughty scenes" as they seemed out-of-place.I also wondered about John Thorpe using the word damn in front of the ladies.

At Lisa's site I saw your brother say that you liked the old NA version.It gets a lot of negative reviews,but I would like to see how it compares to this version.

I hadn't seen Felicity Jones before but I liked her as Catherine.She was very pretty and sweet.

Henry Tilney is up there with Mr.Knightley and Col. Brandon.He is a real gentleman.I also liked how he wanted to get a proper introduction so he could talk to them.He did tease her in friendly manner.

They want to make the films modern and to appeal to "hip" people so they add more s*xual images and scenes.

I noticed the actress who played Fanny from the old MP.The Edmund actor from that one was in the new Persuasion.

I liked Henry's expression when he saw the kid's standing behind the sofa.

I liked the term "Nerd's kiss" that a reader called it.A first kiss should be like that-awkward and passionate! The thing I noticed in that scene is as he's talking to her about what he's done,she's wanting him to get to the proposal part so they can kiss as it wouldn't be proper to kiss before that.

I enjoyed the movie and I didn't find it as unusal as I thought it would be.Her gothic daydreams were funny in a similiar way as Emma's daydreams of wedding matches.

I enjoy reading your reviews as they give me things to think about.

[olde-fashioned.livejournal.com]

Nonsense! Better late than never. And I always did agree with C.S. Lewis on that score. ;-)

The naughty scenes are indeed out of place, but IIRC John Thorpe does swear in front of everyone, including Catherine. JA writes it as "d---" rather than spelling it out. But then you probably already know this.

Yes, my brother is correct! I am a staunch defender of the old (and admittedly sometimes hokey) '80s version of NA. It has its flaws, but surprisingly this new version "borrowed" several elements from the old one. For example, Catherine's straw hat with the blue ribbons looks remarkably like the one Catherine wears in 1986 and my icon. The Gothic fantasies are not in the novel, but they are in the '80s movie, all down to Catherine wearing a white sheet and getting carried off by creepy guys. The '80s version also was filmed on location in Bath, which is more than the ITV version can boast. You also get to see them in the bath house taking the waters, which is very strange but period-correct and a good peek into the past. If you could overlook the bad music and dated hair you might be able to enjoy it. ;-) [/sales pitch]

I liked Felicity Jones as well! And I loved the introduction, and how Henry glared at those lazy men to make them get up and move. :-D I think the Bath scenes are the highlight of this adaptation.

The '80s Edmund was in the new Persuasion? Who was he? I totally missed that!

Thank you for enjoying my reviews, and I shall take that as a compliment. :-) I enjoyed reading your thoughts as well.