All entries for Monday 19 March 2007

Becoming Jane is the one to see

Alright, so I'm going a bit Jane Austen MAD here, but recently I saw the film Becoming Jane and since I loved it I think a little mention of it on the old blog won't hurt. Plus James McAvoy is so very very handsome.

Alright, so perhaps not so much as the lovable faun in The Chronicles of Narnia, but that was a dreary film so lets not think about it too much.

So, Becoming Jane:

Hathaway was lovely, although my father said she let her accent slip at times (this comment was made only after I had told him she was American), and I felt that she and McAvoy acted beautifully together. Not just because they're both lovely to look at, but because they clearly portrayed their character's passion for one other. My heart was pounding whenever they were in each other's company. Their chemistry was outstanding. If you like Jane Austen, costume dramas in general, druel-worthy cinematography, fabulous acting or just a good romance full of sexual tension, then this film is for you.

Not as much could be said about ITV's adaptation of Mansfield Park. 'Twas really rather sad. Billie Piper was alright, but she wasn't quite shy enough, and her hair pissed me off - seriously whoever did the hair for it was an idiot. No woman would wander around with their hair looking exactly as we have it today. Growl. The camera work was tragic, as per usual for TV, with all the dodgy 'wobbly vision, but on purpose' bollocks.

'But why do you insist on wobbling the camera?'
'It looks good. It's fashionable. It's modern and styalistic.'
'Yes, but it gives the viewer a headache.'
'Hm. Your loss if you don't understand our genius visions of artistic briliance.'

ARGH. But there was a consolation ... Edmund was played by Blake Ritson, and he did it rather well ... actually the acting over all was good, really. It was the camera work that let it down. Also the music, like the hairstyling, was too modern at many points. I'm sure it was all on purpose, but it just didn't fit. And for some reason the plot didn't seem to work, either. They skimmed it down too much. Damn ITV, I was looking forward to it so much and they went and ruined it.

: 19 Mar 2007 17:02 |  Tags: Films |  Comments (6) |  Close comments |  Report a problem