she's got red lipstick and a bright pair of shoes (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sophieisgod) wrote2007-03-19 12:30 pm
sophieisgod) wrote2007-03-19 12:30 pm
Entry tags:
Austen Power
Hee. The AustenBlog feed has been bitching about the complete lack of originality re: media coverage of the recent Austen explosion... But I rather like it. I was torn between this title or 'Jane Addiction' but I like to think I made the right call.
So, I saw Becoming Jane last night, which unfortunately clashed with the ITV Mansfield Park, which I duly taped and viewed this morning. There were things that I liked and disliked about both of them, although neither were as catastrophic as they could have been. Nobody's pissing on her grave just yet, anyway, which is a relief.
I really was expecting the worst from this adaptation. I was *so* incredibly worried about the casting of Anne Hathaway, and I was worried they were going to basically just equate Jane with Lizzy Bennett. Which they did, to a certain extent, but it could have been so much worse.
Okay, good things. Anne Hathaway didn't suck. I was hoping against hope that she wouldn't just play it like The Dreaded Keira in P&P, but she was admirably restrained. And the accent didn't suck, so yay! And she's obviously a gorgeous woman, but she wasn't all glowy and pouting and radiant in this. At times, she looked sort of pale and drawn. Which is a good thing, I think.
The supporting cast in general were pretty damn good. Anna Maxwell Martin didn't have much screentime as Cassandra, but made the best of what she had with her usual awesomeness. The relationship between the two sisters was one of my favourite things in the film, and you could see how Jane's love for her sister would influence the Lizzy/Jane relationship in P&P. I infinitely preferred the subtler suggestions like these to some of the more heavy-handed references... More on that story later. I actually really liked Lawrence Fox as Wisley, The Suitor. He was subdued yet sympathetic, and I liked the way he was attracted to Jane's wit and judgement. He made me go 'Awwww' at the end of the proposal scene with a really sweet line that I can't remember, but I remember clutching my heart. Not literally. And Maggie Smith rocked the cock, as ever. Oh, and Helen McRory as Mrs Radcliffe was a nice touch.
For me, although I'm probably horrendously biased, James McAvoy as Tom Lefroy was far and away the best thing about the film. He was cheeky, he was sexy (and then some), he was romantic, he was heartbreaking... He was both freckled and shirtless.... Plus, he got the final shot of the film (don't quote me on that), and when he cries it makes me cry too (He named his daughter Jane!... And I'm crying in the cinema). Ever since Shameless. I loved the character too, shades of both Darcy and Wickham. And Hathaway and McAvoy had some HAWT chemistry going down. If you haven't seen it yet, look out for the library scene. And the dance. And some of the best screen kissing of the year.
And some things which annoyed me slightly/ rather a lot:
There were some pretty blatent references to the text. I mean, it's nice to have shout-outs to the fans, but at one point someone says a phrase from P&P and Jane literally runs off to write it down. I just felt the script was overplaying its hand somewhat. Although I did like that Wisley got "It is a truth universally acknowledged..."
Cassandra was underused!
I would have liked to have seen more of George Austen.
So it's pretty minor gripes, really, and overall I really liked it.
I felt the same way about this as I did about the '05 P&P: It's good enough as a piece of drama in its own right, but it's not a great Austen adaptation.
Billie Piper, though pretty damn good with what she was given, was miscast. I haven't read the book for a long time, but IIRC, Fanny wasn't scampering about the place with a glowing complexion, lustrous golden curls and a heaving bosom. I've read an interview with the director who justified all the running (and there was lots of it) by claiming that since Billie Piper is clearly extraordinary looking, they had to find something else to set Fanny slightly apart from the group. Which is fair enough, but then why cast Billie Piper? Ach. Seriously, though, the character is pretty much unrecognisable from the novel. Which is understandable really, because a modern audience probably wouldn't sympathise greatly with a heroine quite so passive and pious as Fanny is in the book. A lot of adaptations tweak things to make it more palatable, like Hero choosing to be an independent woman at the end of the Shakespeare Retold Much Ado.
Blake Ritson was pretty well cast as Edmund, he's fairly slight with big puppy dog eyes. Although the moment when he realises he's in love with Fanny is pretty damn (unintentionally) comical; he's not even looking at her and all of a sudden his eyes just sort of... widen. Hee. And Fanny and Edmund's Big Kiss was a bit sexy, which can only be a good thing. And I've just IMDb'd him to discover that he played "Justin, Justin, my very own Justin", victim of Herr Lipp in The League Of Gentlemen. Awesome.
James D'Arcy as Tom was cool, but woefully underused. I hate it when adaptations do this, they make you really warm to a character and then they disappear for an hour. Grr.
I really liked the relationship between Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram, especially in the scene right at the end (where the squeezed the quote about a wife being the 'last best treasure'!). Douglas Hodge, AKA Tertius From Middlemarch, was playing Sir Thomas, and although his frightening head of curls has thinned considerably since 1994, he's still a bit good at the old acting lark.
Haley Atwell as Mary Crawford was also pretty good, likeable enough yet with a suitably cynical edge to her. Her chemistry with Edmund wasn't great though. The guy playing Henry wasn't anything special, he got the job done but there wasn't really any sex there. The rest of the supporting cast was basically meh.
So, I quite liked it, but I don't think Austen would have. Cinematography was nice, though.
So, next week it's Northanger Abbey. Now *this* I am excited for. It's the only Austen I've never read, but the casting looks pretty good (yay for Carey Mulligan), and JJ Feild is cute beyond all belief. Plus, the trailer has this really sexy shot with Mr Tilney stroking Catherine's face. In the rain. Oh my.
Also, Arcade Fire will save your life.
So, I saw Becoming Jane last night, which unfortunately clashed with the ITV Mansfield Park, which I duly taped and viewed this morning. There were things that I liked and disliked about both of them, although neither were as catastrophic as they could have been. Nobody's pissing on her grave just yet, anyway, which is a relief.
I really was expecting the worst from this adaptation. I was *so* incredibly worried about the casting of Anne Hathaway, and I was worried they were going to basically just equate Jane with Lizzy Bennett. Which they did, to a certain extent, but it could have been so much worse.
Okay, good things. Anne Hathaway didn't suck. I was hoping against hope that she wouldn't just play it like The Dreaded Keira in P&P, but she was admirably restrained. And the accent didn't suck, so yay! And she's obviously a gorgeous woman, but she wasn't all glowy and pouting and radiant in this. At times, she looked sort of pale and drawn. Which is a good thing, I think.
The supporting cast in general were pretty damn good. Anna Maxwell Martin didn't have much screentime as Cassandra, but made the best of what she had with her usual awesomeness. The relationship between the two sisters was one of my favourite things in the film, and you could see how Jane's love for her sister would influence the Lizzy/Jane relationship in P&P. I infinitely preferred the subtler suggestions like these to some of the more heavy-handed references... More on that story later. I actually really liked Lawrence Fox as Wisley, The Suitor. He was subdued yet sympathetic, and I liked the way he was attracted to Jane's wit and judgement. He made me go 'Awwww' at the end of the proposal scene with a really sweet line that I can't remember, but I remember clutching my heart. Not literally. And Maggie Smith rocked the cock, as ever. Oh, and Helen McRory as Mrs Radcliffe was a nice touch.
For me, although I'm probably horrendously biased, James McAvoy as Tom Lefroy was far and away the best thing about the film. He was cheeky, he was sexy (and then some), he was romantic, he was heartbreaking... He was both freckled and shirtless.... Plus, he got the final shot of the film (don't quote me on that), and when he cries it makes me cry too (He named his daughter Jane!... And I'm crying in the cinema). Ever since Shameless. I loved the character too, shades of both Darcy and Wickham. And Hathaway and McAvoy had some HAWT chemistry going down. If you haven't seen it yet, look out for the library scene. And the dance. And some of the best screen kissing of the year.
And some things which annoyed me slightly/ rather a lot:
There were some pretty blatent references to the text. I mean, it's nice to have shout-outs to the fans, but at one point someone says a phrase from P&P and Jane literally runs off to write it down. I just felt the script was overplaying its hand somewhat. Although I did like that Wisley got "It is a truth universally acknowledged..."
Cassandra was underused!
I would have liked to have seen more of George Austen.
So it's pretty minor gripes, really, and overall I really liked it.
I felt the same way about this as I did about the '05 P&P: It's good enough as a piece of drama in its own right, but it's not a great Austen adaptation.
Billie Piper, though pretty damn good with what she was given, was miscast. I haven't read the book for a long time, but IIRC, Fanny wasn't scampering about the place with a glowing complexion, lustrous golden curls and a heaving bosom. I've read an interview with the director who justified all the running (and there was lots of it) by claiming that since Billie Piper is clearly extraordinary looking, they had to find something else to set Fanny slightly apart from the group. Which is fair enough, but then why cast Billie Piper? Ach. Seriously, though, the character is pretty much unrecognisable from the novel. Which is understandable really, because a modern audience probably wouldn't sympathise greatly with a heroine quite so passive and pious as Fanny is in the book. A lot of adaptations tweak things to make it more palatable, like Hero choosing to be an independent woman at the end of the Shakespeare Retold Much Ado.
Blake Ritson was pretty well cast as Edmund, he's fairly slight with big puppy dog eyes. Although the moment when he realises he's in love with Fanny is pretty damn (unintentionally) comical; he's not even looking at her and all of a sudden his eyes just sort of... widen. Hee. And Fanny and Edmund's Big Kiss was a bit sexy, which can only be a good thing. And I've just IMDb'd him to discover that he played "Justin, Justin, my very own Justin", victim of Herr Lipp in The League Of Gentlemen. Awesome.
James D'Arcy as Tom was cool, but woefully underused. I hate it when adaptations do this, they make you really warm to a character and then they disappear for an hour. Grr.
I really liked the relationship between Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram, especially in the scene right at the end (where the squeezed the quote about a wife being the 'last best treasure'!). Douglas Hodge, AKA Tertius From Middlemarch, was playing Sir Thomas, and although his frightening head of curls has thinned considerably since 1994, he's still a bit good at the old acting lark.
Haley Atwell as Mary Crawford was also pretty good, likeable enough yet with a suitably cynical edge to her. Her chemistry with Edmund wasn't great though. The guy playing Henry wasn't anything special, he got the job done but there wasn't really any sex there. The rest of the supporting cast was basically meh.
So, I quite liked it, but I don't think Austen would have. Cinematography was nice, though.
So, next week it's Northanger Abbey. Now *this* I am excited for. It's the only Austen I've never read, but the casting looks pretty good (yay for Carey Mulligan), and JJ Feild is cute beyond all belief. Plus, the trailer has this really sexy shot with Mr Tilney stroking Catherine's face. In the rain. Oh my.
Also, Arcade Fire will save your life.
no subject
See now I liked that Fanny was pious and what not because otherwise she's just like everyone else isn't she?
And Hero does not get with Robert Sean Leonard's character from the Kenneth Brannagh Much Ado (forgot the boys name) in the Shakespeare retold one? Nooo! *cries*
no subject
I see what you mean about Fanny, but I think if they played her like that now she'd just come off really dull like Mary in the '95 P&P. They could have played it up a bit more in the adaption, though, she mentions prayer once and that's about it.
You should watch the Shakespeare Retold stuff, it's awesome. I shall lend you my DVD upon my return to Yorkland. Much Ado and Taming of the Shrew are my favourites, but Macbeth is just baaaad. I love James McAvoy, but still. They had to go a bit girl power really, because otherwise you've got Claudio basically calling Hero a slag at the altar and humiliating her and not trusting her, and she's supposed to just go back to him and be grateful that he wants to marry he again? Nope. They don't entirely slam the door on the relationship, though, it's more 'I don't want to marry anyone just yet'. You get the sense that they'll end up together.
The Kenneth Branagh adap is one of my favourites ever, though. Is it wrong to have a crush on him?
no subject
Yeah I suppose she would, but there's a difference between making her a bit more interesting and changing her completely.
My Mum has the Shakespeare Retold DVD but I never got the chance to watch it when I was at home in December. She said Taming of the Shrew was her favourite as well and she didn't like Macbeth either. I suppose that makes sense, but I heart the Kenneth Branagh adaptation. I have it on DVD. Hmmm maybe I'll watch it tonight...
Oooh! I know what I want to borrow from you when you get back - you said you have North and South right?
no subject
It is so, so good. Mainly because of Richard Armitage... But the music is great, and it's all very pretty, and Richard Armitage? Takes off his cravat. Oh my.
Also, where can I get a good layout? Is there anywhere you can reccomend, graphics genius that you are?
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
That
no subject
What goes wrong when you add headers? The one you're using now looks fine.