A closer look at the 2007 Austen adaptations
They’re still about a year away from their Masterpiece Theatre broadcast dates, but three new Jane Austen adaptations will debut on the UK’s ITV-1 some time this winter. ITV has not announced specific dates, but the managers for the estate at which Mansfield Park was filmed were told March. Masterpiece Theatre will show these films in the USA in November along with the BBC’s new Sense and Sensibility. AustenBlog has all kinds of news and links pertaining to the films and my web site is the home of the unofficial Northanger Abbey press room and cast gallery. And at long last, a winter preview trailer is up on YouTube. Follow the jump to see a few still images from the trailer accompanied by my commentary, most of which is devoted to dissecting the Northanger Abbey teaser.
Mansfield Park
Mansfield Park will star Billie Piper as Fanny Price. The gentleman in the trailer appears to be Henry Crawford, as played by Joe Beattie.
On one hand, the screenwriter is also responsible for the 1986 BBC Northanger Abbey, which makes me nervous, and judging from still photos, I thought the cast, Billie Piper in particular, looked too modern for the story. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the actors’ delivery in this short scene: Henry was beguiling; Fanny demure. They might just bring it off. Maybe.
Persuasion
Persuasion features Sally Hawkins in the role of Anne Elliot and Rupert Penry-Jones as Captain Wentworth.
I’ve enjoyed reading the press and seeing the photos for this production. The trailer shows a series of images from the film rather than a particular sequence of action from the plot.
Between the still shots and this trailer, I think the production team has done a lovely job setting an appropriate mood for the novel. In fairness I must point out my expectations are mostly based on pretty pictures rather than observing actual performances — but that said I’m still looking forward to this film very much. I expect it will be my favorite of the three.
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Northanger Abbey
- IMDB page
- Octagon Films, no official film site yet
It’s been twenty years since the last — and only — film adaptation of Northanger Abbey, and I think it can be agreed that the 1986 BBC film is one of the more controversial Austen adaptations. This new adaptation has been in and out of production since about 1999. Based on what I have learned about it during this time, this new film promises to be controversial as well in its own way.
I had hoped that changes had been made over the years, but thus far every press release, photo, and now this trailer further confirms my concerns. Nevertheless, without giving away details, here’s a guide to the trailer.
Over the trailer narration, “Tales of deceit”, our first look at Northanger Abbey is a shot of Isabella Thorpe (Carey Mulligan) with James Morland (Hugh O’Conor), followed by a suitably rakish-looking Captain Frederick Tilney (Mark Dymond).
Next, we hear Henry Tilney (JJ Feild): “You’ve been suspecting my father of a crime so dreadful …” as the scene abruptly shifts to Isabella bound and struggling on a bed, Frederick supervising the proceedings. These two images are most likely part of Catherine’s Gothic-themed dreams or fantasies.
As Henry finishes, Catherine Morland (Felicity Jones) retorts, “You said yourself the house was full of secrets!” Though we can’t see his face, she’s probably talking to Henry in the scene where he has found her outside his mother’s room.
Unfortunately I was not impressed by the very brief glimpse of Catherine and Henry together. JJ sounded like he was reading his line, and Felicity’s delivery was not believable. A very flat depiction of what should be one of the most emotional exchanges in the story. I’ve seen several of JJ Feild’s other films and have found him to be a capable and talented actor; this may be an isolated incident. I haven’t seen or heard Felicity’s recent work so I will confine myself to saying that in the still photos she does look the part. Again, I hope this was a poor choice of scene for the trailer and not indicative of the actors’ overall performances.
Certainly it is unfair to judge an entire film by a few seconds; nevertheless, this is a teaser trailer. A teaser trailer ought to show off the more tantalizing bits of a film — enticing the viewer, not leaving the hope that the rest of the movie must surely be better than what has just been seen. To its credit, I thought the trailer was successful two times out of three.
